title: Developmental effects of exposures to environmental factors: the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study.
abstract: This paper estimates the effects of exposure to environmental factors, including lead, mercury, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), on child psychomotor development. The study population consists of mother-child pairs in the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study. Prenatal and postnatal exposure to environmental factors was determined from biomarker measurements as follows: for lead exposure--cord blood lead level, for mercury--maternal hair mercury level, for ETS--cotinine level in saliva and urine, and for PAH--1-hydroxypyrene (1-HP) in urine. At the age of 12 (406 subjects) and 24 months (198 subjects) children were assessed using Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. There were no statistically significant effects of prenatal exposure to mercury or 1-HP on child psychomotor development. After adjusting for potential confounders, adverse effects of prenatal exposure to ETS on motor development ( β = -2.6; P = 0.02) and postnatal exposure to ETS on cognitive ( β = -0.2; P = 0.05) and motor functions ( β = -0.5; P = 0.01) were found. The adverse effect of prenatal lead exposure on cognitive score was of borderline significance ( β = -6.2; P = 0.06). The study underscores the importance of policies and public health interventions that aim to reduce prenatal and postnatal exposure to lead and ETS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 8 Teresy Street, 91-348 Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Kinga
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Polanska
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hanke
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sobala
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trzcinka-Ochocka
authors.forename: Danuta
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ligocka
authors.forename: Slawomir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brzeznicki
authors.forename: Halina
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Strugala-Stawik
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Magnus
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D011044:Poland
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants