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.
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.
Nakai
Kunihiko
K
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8575, Japan. nakaik@mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp
Suzuki
Keita
K
Oka
Tomoko
T
Murata
Katsuyuki
K
Sakamoto
Mineshi
M
Okamura
Kunihiro
K
Hosokawa
Toru
T
Sakai
Takeo
T
Nakamura
Tomoyuki
T
Saito
Yoshinori
Y
Kurokawa
Naoyuki
N
Kameo
Satomi
S
Satoh
Hiroshi
H
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
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds