title: The Tohoku Study of Child Development: A cohort study of effects of perinatal exposures to methylmercury and environmentally persistent organic pollutants on neurobehavioral development in Japanese children.
abstract: Several birth cohort studies have shown adverse effects of perinatal exposures to methylmercury (MeHg) and environmentally persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These chemicals are ingested mainly through fish consumption, but little is known about the hazardous effects in Japanese, whose fish consumption is high. The present study, the Tohoku Study of Child Development, was designed to examine the effects of perinatal exposures to MeHg, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), dioxins, pesticides, and other chemicals in Japanese children. Six hundred eighty-seven pregnant women were participated in this study with their written informed consent. Maternal peripheral blood, cord blood, cord tissue, placenta, and breast milk samples were collected for chemical analysis. Maternal hair was also taken for MeHg analysis. Infants born at full term were assessed by neurobehavioral tests: the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale at three days old, the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 7 and 18 months old, and the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence at 7 months old. The children will be continuously followed up to ages 6-7 years. Maternal food intake frequency, maternal IQ, socioeconomic status, and home environment were assessed as covariates. The results of this cohort study will allow us to evaluate associations between the neurobehavioral development of children and perinatal exposures to MeHg and environmentally POPs in Japan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8575, Japan. nakaik@mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.forename: Keita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: Katsuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.forename: Mineshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hosokawa
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Naoyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kameo
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Satoh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002657:Child Development; D015331:Cohort Studies; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000139:chemically induced*; D004032:Diet; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007564:Japan; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity*; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry; D009420:Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds