Pre- and postnatal arsenic exposure and child development at 18 months of age: a cohort study in rural Bangladesh.
BACKGROUND
Exposure to arsenic through drinking water has been associated with impaired cognitive function in school-aged children in cross-sectional studies; however, there are few longitudinal studies and little information on effects of exposure in early life when the brain is generally most vulnerable.


METHODS
A longitudinal cohort study beginning in early pregnancy was conducted in rural Bangladesh, where arsenic concentrations in well water vary considerably. We assessed the effects of pre- and postnatal arsenic exposure on development of 2112 children at 18 months of age with Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II (mental and psychomotor development indices), Wolke's Behavior Rating Scale and maternal report of language. We related the measures of child development to arsenic concentrations in maternal urine in gestational weeks 9 and 30 and child's urinary arsenic at 18 months of age. Details of socio-economic background, home stimulation and anthropometric measurements of mothers and children were also available.


RESULTS
Median maternal urinary arsenic concentration averaged over early and late gestation was 96 µg/l, whereas children's urine contained 35 µg/l of arsenic. There was no significant effect of any of the arsenic exposure measures on any of the child development measures after controlling for social and economic confounders, child's age and sex.


CONCLUSIONS
Contrary to expectations, we found no indications of adverse effects of pre- or postnatal arsenic exposure on child development at 18 months. It remains possible that duration of exposure is critical and that effects will become apparent later in childhood.
Hamadani
Jena D
JD
International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. jena@icddrb.org
Grantham-McGregor
Sally M
SM
Tofail
Fahmida
F
Nermell
Barbro
B
Fängström
Britta
B
Huda
Syed N
SN
Yesmin
Sakila
S
Rahman
Mahfuzar
M
Vera-Hernández
Marcos
M
Arifeen
Shams E
SE
Vahter
Marie
M
D001151:Arsenic / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000652:urine; D020261:Arsenic Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000652:urine; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D008603:Mental Health; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000652:urine; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000032:analysis; D014881:Water Supply
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic