title: Prenatal exposure to phthalates and neuropsychological development during childhood.
abstract: There is inconsistent evidence regarding the effects of prenatal phthalate exposure on children's neuropsychological development. We evaluate the association between prenatal phthalate exposure and the cognitive, psychomotor and behavioral development of 367 children at repeated ages in a prospective birth cohort study. We measured phthalate metabolites (sum of four DEHP metabolites - Σ4DEHP, MBzP, MEP, MiBP and MnBP) in urine samples collected during the 1st and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy in women participating in the INMA-Sabadell birth cohort study. We assessed cognitive and psychomotor development of their children at 1 and 4 years, and social competence, ADHD symptoms and other behavioral problems at 4 and 7 years. No associations were observed between prenatal phthalate exposure and cognitive and psychomotor scores at the age of 1 year and at the age of 4 years, except for an association between MBzP and lower psychomotor scores (β=-1.49 [95% confidence interval (CI)=-2.78, -0.21]). Σ4DEHP concentrations were associated with increased social competence scores at 4 years and with reduced ADHD symptoms at age 4 and 7 years. Increasing MEP concentrations were associated with a reduced risk of inattention symptoms at 4 years. No associations were observed for MBzP, MiBP or MnBP in relation to behavioral problems. This study, with multiple phthalate exposure measurements and measures of neuropsychological domains at different ages, suggest that prenatal phthalate exposure does not adversely affect children's cognitive, psychomotor or behavioral development.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: mgascon@creal.cat.
authors.forename: Mireia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gascon
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: dvalvi@creal.cat.
authors.forename: Damaskini
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Valvi
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Genes and Environment, Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: jforns@creal.cat.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Forns
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: mcasas@creal.cat.
authors.forename: Maribel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casas
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: dmartinez@creal.cat.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jjulvez@creal.cat.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Júlvez
authors.affiliation: IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: nmonfort@imim.es.
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Monfort
authors.affiliation: Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: rventura@imim.es.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jsunyer@creal.cat.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sunyer
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: mvrijheid@creal.cat.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vrijheid
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000523:psychology; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000633:toxicity / Q000652:urine*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First / Q000652:urine; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third / Q000652:urine; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D066107:Social Skills
chemical_list: D010795:Phthalic Acids
keywords: Behavior; Children; Cognition; Neuropsychological development; Phthalates