Effects of prenatal PCB and dioxin background exposure on cognitive and motor abilities in Dutch children at school age

doi:10.1067/mpd.2002.119625

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 140, Issue 1, January 2002, Pages 48-56

https://doi.org/10.1067/mpd.2002.119625 Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective: Our purpose was to evaluate whether effects of exposure to environmental levels of PCBs and dioxins on development in the Dutch cohort persist until school age. Study design: In the Dutch PCB/dioxin study, cognitive and motor abilities were assessed with the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities in children at school age. During infancy, half of this population was fully breast-fed for at least ≥6 weeks and the other half formula fed. Prenatal exposure to PCBs was defined as the sum of PCB118, 138, 153, and 180 in maternal and cord plasma. In breast milk, additional measurements of 17 dioxins, 6 dioxin-like PCBs, and 20 nondioxin-like PCBs were done. Results: Negative effects of prenatal PCB and dioxin exposure on cognitive and motor abilities were seen when parental and home characteristics were less optimal. These effects were not measurable in children raised in more optimal environments. Conclusions: .Neurotoxic effects of prenatal PCB and dioxin exposure may persist into school age, resulting in subtle cognitive and motor developmental delays. More optimal intellectual stimulation provided by a more advantageous parental and home environment may counteract these effects of prenatal exposure to PCBs and dioxins on cognitive and motor abilities. (J Pediatr 2002;140:48-56)

Section snippets

Patients

The study population consisted of 418 healthy mother-infant pairs who were recruited from 1990 to 1992. Half the study population was from Rotterdam, a highly industrialized and densely populated area, and the other half from Gröningen, a semiurban area, in The Netherlands. The study design, recruitment process, and chemical analysis of PCBs and dioxins have been described in detail elsewhere.¹⁵ All included mother-infant pairs were white, and pregnancy and delivery had been without

Results

At school age, 376 children (90%) of the original cohort of 418 children (189 from Rotterdam, 187 from Groningen) were willing to participate in the follow-up assessment. Forty-two children were lost to follow-up, 21 because of a lack of interest, 20 because of emigration, and 1 because of death in an accident. Four children were excluded from data analyses because of circumstances that are known to influence the score on the McCarthy scales of Children's Abilities, other than PCB and dioxin

Discussion

In the Dutch PCB and dioxin study at school age, subtle effects of prenatal exposure to PCBs and dioxins were seen on cognitive and motor abilities. At 42 months¹³ and at 6.5 years of age, FF children had significantly lower cognitive abilities than BF children. In the FF group in our cohort, parental and home environmental characteristics are less optimal compared with these characteristics in the BF group. Effects of prenatal PCB exposure on cognitive abilities of children at 42 months of age

Acknowledgements

We thank Professor Winneke, MD, for critically reviewing this paper. We thank C. Koopman-Essenboom, MD, and H. Huisman, MD, for recruitment of all mother-infant pairs and collection of blood and milk samples. We thank all parents and their children for participation in this study.

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^☆: Supported by the European Commission for Environmental and Health Programs Contract No. EV5V-CT92-0207.

^☆☆: Reprint requests: Nynke Weisglas-Kuperus, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Sophia Children's Hospital, PO Box 2060, 3000 CB Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

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Original ArticlesEffects of prenatal PCB and dioxin background exposure on cognitive and motor abilities in Dutch children at school age☆,☆☆

Abstract

Section snippets

Patients

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Eur J Pharmacol

Chemosphere

J Pediatr

Ann Epidemiol

J Pediatr

J Pediatr

Early Hum Dev

Early Hum Dev

J Pediatr

Chemosphere

J Chromatogr

Neurotoxicol Teratol

Neurotoxicol Teratol

Chemosphere

The effect of intrauterine PCB exposure on visual recognition memory

Child Dev

Intellectual impairment in children exposed to polychorinated biphenyls in utero

N Engl J Med

Prenatal exposure to PCBs and infant performance on the fagan test of infant intelligence

Neurotoxicology

Effects of polychlorinated biphenyl/dioxin exposure and feeding type on infants' mental and psychomotor development

Pediatrics

Original Articles
Effects of prenatal PCB and dioxin background exposure on cognitive and motor abilities in Dutch children at school age☆,☆☆