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Aerobic Fitness and Neurocognitive Function Scores in Young Faroese Adults and Potential Modification by Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure.

ABSTRACT: Exposure to methylmercury was shown to decrease neural stem cell populations, whereas aerobic fitness has beneficial effects on the adult brain that relies on improved neurogenesis in the hippocampus.We examined the association between aerobic fitness and neurocognitive outcomes at young adult age, along with the potential moderating effect of prenatal exposure to methylmercury.At age 22 years, 262 members of a Faroese birth cohort, established in 1986-1987, underwent a graded exercise test of aerobic fitness to measure maximal oxygen uptake (VO2Max). Their prenatal methylmercury exposure had been assessed from the mercury concentration in cord blood. We estimated cross-sectional associations between VO2Max and multiple measures of neurocognitive function. In addition, we compared groups with low and high prenatal methylmercury exposure.A 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in VO2Max was associated with better scores on short-term memory and cognitive processing speed by 0.21 SD (95% CI: -0.04, 0.46) and 0.28 SD (95% CI: 0.02, 0.54), respectively. In the group with lower prenatal methylmercury exposure, a 1 SD increase in VO2Max was associated with increased scores on cognitive processing speed by 0.45 SD (95% CI: 0.08, 0.81) and with a slightly lesser benefit in short-term memory. No such association was observed in the group with high prenatal methylmercury exposure.Higher aerobic capacity was associated with better performance in short-term memory and processing speed. However, prenatal methylmercury exposure seemed to attenuate these positive associations.

SUBMITTER: Oulhote Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5381980 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Aerobic Fitness and Neurocognitive Function Scores in Young Faroese Adults and Potential Modification by Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure.

Oulhote Youssef Y Debes Frodi F Vestergaard Sonja S Weihe Pal P Grandjean Philippe P

Environmental health perspectives 20160909 4

<h4>Background</h4>Exposure to methylmercury was shown to decrease neural stem cell populations, whereas aerobic fitness has beneficial effects on the adult brain that relies on improved neurogenesis in the hippocampus.<h4>Objectives</h4>We examined the association between aerobic fitness and neurocognitive outcomes at young adult age, along with the potential moderating effect of prenatal exposure to methylmercury.<h4>Methods</h4>At age 22 years, 262 members of a Faroese birth cohort, establish ...[more]

PMID: 27611346

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Project description:BackgroundAlthough prenatal methylmercury exposure has been linked to poorer intellectual function in several studies, data from two major prospective, longitudinal studies yielded contradictory results. Associations with cognitive deficits were reported in a Faroe Islands cohort, but few were found in a study in the Seychelles Islands. It has been suggested that co-exposure to another contaminant, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), may be responsible for the positive findings in the former study and that co-exposure to nutrients in methylmercury-contaminated fish may have obscured and/or protected against adverse effects in the latter.ObjectivesWe aimed to determine the degree to which co-exposure to PCBs may account for the adverse effects of methylmercury and the degree to which co-exposure to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may obscure these effects in a sample of Inuit children in Arctic Québec.MethodsIQ was estimated in 282 school-age children from whom umbilical cord blood samples had been obtained and analyzed for mercury and other environmental exposures.ResultsPrenatal mercury exposure was related to poorer estimated IQ after adjustment for potential confounding variables. The entry of DHA into the model significantly strengthened the association with mercury, supporting the hypothesis that beneficial effects from DHA intake can obscure adverse effects of mercury exposure. Children with cord mercury ≥ 7.5 μg/L were four times as likely to have an IQ score < 80, the clinical cut-off for borderline intellectual disability. Co-exposure to PCBs did not alter the association of mercury with IQ.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to document an association of prenatal mercury exposure with poorer performance on a school-age assessment of IQ, a measure whose relevance for occupational success in adulthood is well established. This association was seen at levels in the range within which many U.S. children of Asian-American background are exposed.

Project description:BackgroundAlthough aerobic fitness is regarded as an overall prognostic measure of morbidity and mortality, its evaluation in the chronic progressive sinopulmonary disease primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) has been infrequently and inconsistently reported. Here we assessed peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) in a large well-characterized cohort of PCD patients, and explored whether VO2peak was associated with parameters of pulmonary function, self-reported physical limitations, and physical activity level.MethodsVO2peak, spirometry, diffusing capacity, whole-body plethysmography, and nitrogen multiple breath inert gas washout (N2 MBW) were assessed in a cross-sectional, single-occasion study of clinically stable children and young adults with PCD. We used a questionnaire including self-reported physical limitations in everyday life or in vigorous activities, and estimation of weekly hours of strenuous physical activity. VO2peak in PCD patients was compared with that in matched, healthy control subjects and a national reference.ResultsForty-four PCD patients aged 6-29 years exhibited reduced VO2peak compared to healthy controls (P<0.001) and the national reference. VO2peak was abnormal (z-score <-1.96) in 34% of PCD patients. Spirometric values, RV/TLC, and indices of N2 MBW were significantly abnormal, but VO2peak only correlated with FEV1 and DLCO/VA. VO2peak correlated with complaints of moderate or significant limitations in vigorous activities (P = 0.0001), exhibited by 39% of PCD patients.ConclusionOne-third of PCD patients exhibited substantially lower aerobic fitness than healthy subjects. Aerobic fitness correlated with FEV1, DLCO/VA and self-reported complaints of limitations in vigorous physical activity. These findings are most likely explained by PCD pulmonary disease and its impact on pulmonary function and physical ability. Considering fitness as an important outcome and including regular strenuous physical activity in PCD treatment would probably altogether increase pulmonary clearance, lung function, aerobic fitness, and quality of life, and prevent lifestyle-related diseases.

Dataset Information

Aerobic Fitness and Neurocognitive Function Scores in Young Faroese Adults and Potential Modification by Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure.

Publications

Aerobic Fitness and Neurocognitive Function Scores in Young Faroese Adults and Potential Modification by Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure.

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