Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers and child attention problems at 3-7 years.
BACKGROUND
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) comprise a class of halogenated compounds used extensively as flame retardant chemicals in consumer products resulting in nearly ubiquitous human exposure. Mounting evidence suggests that PBDEs are developmental neurotoxicants; however, associations between early life exposure and child behavior have been largely limited to a single developmental time point.


METHODS
The study population consists primarily of white, black and Chinese women who were pregnant on 11 September 2001 and delivered at 1 of 3 downtown New York City hospitals. Maternal-child pairs were followed through age 7 years. Cord blood was collected at delivery and PBDE plasma levels for 210 samples were analyzed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Child Behavior Checklist, a validated maternal-report instrument used for assessing child behavior, was administered annually between the ages of 3 and 7 years. We analyzed the association between natural log-transformed and dichotomized (low vs. high) PBDEs and attention problems using multivariable adjusted negative binomial regression.


RESULTS
We detected 4 PBDE congeners in more than 50% of samples, with concentrations highest for BDE-47 (median±IQR: 11.2±19.6 ng/g). In adjusted analyses, we detected associations between BDE-47 (1.21, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.47), and BDE-153 (1.18, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.39) in cord plasma and increased attention problems among children at age 4 (n=109) but not 6 (n=107) years.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings demonstrate a positive trend between prenatal PBDE exposure and early childhood attention problems, and are consistent with previous research reporting associations between prenatal PBDE exposure and disrupted child behaviors.
Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Whitney J
WJ
Cowell
Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Sally A
SA
Lederman
Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
Andreas
A
Sjödin
Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
Richard
R
Jones
Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Shuang
S
Wang
Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Frederica P
FP
Perera
Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
Richard
R
Wang
Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Virginia A
VA
Rauh
Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. Electronic address: jh2678@cumc.columbia.edu.
Julie B
JB
Herbstman
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D044466:Asian People; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000633:toxicity*; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced*; D047851:September 11 Terrorist Attacks; D044465:White People
D005411:Flame Retardants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
Attention; Flame retardants; Neurodevelopment; PBDEs; Prenatal