title: Systematic analysis of the relationship between standardized prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and mental and motor development during follow-up of nine children cohorts.
abstract: Impact of prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on mental and motor development has been investigated in various children cohorts, but findings show temporal inconsistencies. Because a direct comparison of results obtained from different cohorts remains difficult, temporal relationship between biological PCB concentrations and long-term developmental effects is still not clearly established. The objective of this research was to use a procedure previously developed to standardize PCB biological concentration data across cohorts in order to perform a systematic analysis of temporal associations between prenatal PCB exposure and mental and motor development from neonatal period (or a young age) until school age. Prenatal exposure data from nine cohorts were standardized in terms of total PCBs per kg of lipids in maternal plasma. Systematic analysis of the "standardized biological concentration-development" relationship during follow-up of each cohort was then conducted through the application of Hill criteria. This led to retain six of the studied cohorts in the final analysis. A biological level of prenatal PCB exposure below which risk of mental or motor development should be negligible was established in the order of 1000μg/kg of lipids in maternal plasma.
authors.affiliation: Département de santé environnementale et santé au travail, Chaire d'analyse et de gestion des risques toxicologiques and Institut de recherche en santé publique de l'Université de Montréal (IRSPUM), Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, P.O. Box 6128, Main Station, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3C 3J7.
authors.forename: Naïma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: El Majidi
authors.forename: Michèle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bouchard
authors.forename: Gaétan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carrier
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls