title: Effects of prenatal exposure to cadmium on neurodevelopment of infants in Shandong, China.
abstract: Although animal studies suggested that prenatal cadmium exposure can cause neurodevelopmental deficits, little is explored in human populations, or its mechanism. We investigated the association between prenatal cadmium exposures and infants' developmental quotients (DQs) based on the Gesell Developmental Schedules (gross motor, fine motor, adaptive, language, and social domains) at 12 months of age and explored the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in prenatal cadmium-induced neurodevelopmental deficits in Shandong, China, by enrolling 300 mothers between September 2010 and December 2011. Maternal blood cadmium concentration (median, 1.24 μg/L) was negatively associated with social domain DQs and BDNF levels in cord serum. A 10-fold increase in maternal cadmium levels was associated with a 5.70-point decrease in social domain DQs, a 4.31-point decrease in BDNF levels. BDNF levels were positively associated with social domain DQs. These data suggest that prenatal low-level cadmium exposure has adverse effects on neurodevelopment. BDNF may play an important role in the decline of social domain DQs induced by prenatal low-level cadmium exposure.
authors.affiliation: MOE and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Department of Neonatology, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yiwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Limei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Caifeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yijun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: MOE and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: tianmiejp@sjtu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D002104:Cadmium / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity*; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects; D002681:China; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D002104:Cadmium; C579455:BDNF protein, human
keywords: BDNF; Cadmium; China; Neurodevelopment; Prenatal exposure