title: Motor function in aging Great Lakes fisheaters.
abstract: Exposure to contaminants in Great Lakes fish has been linked to impaired neuropsychological functioning in children, but neurological function of exposed adults has not been evaluated. This report describes a cross-sectional analysis of the effects of PCB/DDE exposure from contaminated fish on fine motor function in older adults. The subjects were 50-90-year-old Michigan residents who were members of a previously established study cohort. Fisheaters ate 24 lbs or more of sport-caught Lake Michigan fish/year at the time they were originally recruited in 1980-1982. Age- and sex-matched non-fisheaters ate 6 or fewer lbs/year. Outcome measures were scores on the Static Motor Steadiness Test (SMST) and Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT). PCB/DDE exposure was determined through serum analyses performed at the time of recruitment into the present study in 1993-1995. Because of the high correlation between serum PCB and DDE levels in this sample (Spearman r=0.64, P<0.0001), the effects of the two contaminants were assessed jointly using a single derived exposure variable=Low=both PCB and DDE at or below the medians of their respective distributions, intermediate=PCB and/or DDE in the third quartile, and high=PCB and/or DDE in the upper quartile. In unadjusted analyses, high exposure to PCBs/DDE was associated with significantly poorer performance on the GPT (P=0.03). However, in the multiple regression model, age and gender emerged as the most significant factors affecting GPT scores, and exposure to PCB/DDE was not significant. Performance on the SMST was not related to PCB/DDE exposure in initial unadjusted analyses, but performance with the dominant hand was marginally (P=0.052) associated with exposure in the final model. Scores on the SMST improved slightly as PCB/DDE exposure increased. A similar trend was not observed for the nondominant hand (P=0.46). These findings suggest that PCB/DDE exposure from Great Lakes fish has not significantly impaired hand steadiness or visual-motor coordination in this sample of older adults.
authors: College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA. schantz@uiuc.edu
authors: S L
authors: SL
authors: Schantz
authors: J C
authors: JC
authors: Gardiner
authors: D M
authors: DM
authors: Gasior
authors: A M
authors: AM
authors: Sweeney
authors: H E
authors: HE
authors: Humphrey
authors: R J
authors: RJ
authors: McCaffrey
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005506:Food Contamination; D006114:Great Lakes Region; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical