title: Neurobehavioral function and low-level metal exposure in adolescents.
abstract: An excessive metal exposure is harmful to the brain. However, many aspects of metal neurotoxicity remain unclear including the magnitude of the low-level exposure effects and the level of exposure that can be assumed safe. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between a low-level metal exposure and three neurobehavioral domains (sustained attention, short-term memory, and manual motor speed). We measured Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Tl in blood, Cd, Ni, and toxicologically relevant As in urine and methyl Hg in hair in 606 adolescents between 13.6 and 17 years of age. A two-fold increase in blood Cu was associated with a 0.37 standard deviations decrease in sustained attention (95% CI: -0.67 to -0.07, p=0.02) and 0.39 standard deviations decrease in short-term memory (95% CI: -0.70 to -0.07, p=0.02), accounting for gender, age, smoking, passive smoking, household income per capita, occupation of the parents, and education level of the mother. None of the other metals was significantly associated with the neurobehavioral domains that were measured. The observed associations between blood Cu and neurobehavioral performance are in line with recent studies in elderly. However, the relevance of our results for public health remains to be elucidated.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kicinski
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vrijens
authors.affiliation: Integrated Psychiatric Centre OPZ Geel, Geel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Griet
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vermier
authors.affiliation: Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Environmental Risk and Health, Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: Elly Den
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Hond
authors.affiliation: Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Environmental Risk and Health, Mol, Belgium; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Greet
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schoeters
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Provincial Institute for Hygiene, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nelen
authors.affiliation: Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bruckers
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sioen
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Willy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Baeyens
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussel, Belgium; Department of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Van Larebeke
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Sint Dimphna Hospital, Geel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Mineke K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Viaene
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium; School of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: tim.nawrot@uhasselt.be.
authors.forename: Tim S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Nawrot
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007854:Lead; D003300:Copper
keywords: Adolescents; Cognition; Copper; Lead; Metals; Neurotoxicity