Mixtures of Metals and Micronutrients in Early Pregnancy and Cognition in Early and Mid-Childhood: Findings from the Project Viva Cohort
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ABSTRACT: Background:
The developing fetal brain is sensitive to many environmental exposures. However, the independent and joint effects of prenatal exposure to metals and micronutrients on child cognition are not well understood. Objectives:
Our aim was to evaluate associations of first-trimester ( Methods:
We measured concentrations of five essential metals (Cu, Mg, Mn, Se, Zn) and two micronutrients (vitamin B12 and folate), together termed the “nutrient mixture,” as well as six nonessential metals (As, Ba, Cd, Cs, Hg, Pb), together termed the “neurotoxic mixture,” in first-trimester ( Results:
Analyses included 900 mother–child pairs (74% college graduates; 52% male children). In mixture analyses, a quartile increase in the nutrient mixture was associated with a mean difference in early childhood receptive vocabulary score of 1.58 points [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.06, 3.10], driven by Zn and Se. A quartile increase in the neurotoxic mixture was associated with a mean difference in mid-childhood visual-motor score of Discussion:
Maternal circulating concentrations of several essential (Zn and Se) and nonessential (Ba and Cs) metals were associated with some domains of child cognition. In this folate-replete cohort, first-trimester circulating concentrations of known neurotoxic metals, such as Pb, were not associated with child cognition. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12016
SUBMITTER: Thilakaratne R
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10431487 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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