In Utero and Childhood Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Exposures and Neurodevelopment in the CHAMACOS Study
Open accessAbstract
background: California children’s exposures to polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants (PBDEs) are among the highest worldwide. PBDEs are known endocrine disruptors and neurotoxicants in animals. Objective: Here we investigate the relation of in utero and child PBDE exposure to neurobehavioral development among participants in CHAMACOS (Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas), a California birth cohort. Methods: We measured PBDEs in maternal prenatal and child serum samples and examined the association of PBDE concentrations with children’s attention, motor functioning, and cognition at 5 (n = 310) and 7 years of age (n = 323). Results: Maternal prenatal PBDE concentrations were associated with impaired attention as measured by a continuous performance task at 5 years and maternal report at 5 and 7 years of age, with poorer fine motor coordination—particularly in the nondominant—at both age points, and with decrements in Verbal and Full-Scale IQ at 7 years. PBDE concentrations in children 7 years of age were significantly or marginally associated with concurrent teacher reports of attention problems and decrements in Processing Speed, Perceptual Reasoning, Verbal Comprehension, and Full-Scale IQ. These associations were not altered by adjustment for birth weight, gestational age, or maternal thyroid hormone levels. Conclusions: Both prenatal and childhood PBDE exposures were associated with poorer attention, fine motor coordination, and cognition in the CHAMACOS cohort of school-age children. This study, the largest to date, contributes to growing evidence suggesting that PBDEs have adverse impacts on child neurobehavioral development.
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More than 1000 EDC have been identified in food, air, water, pesticides, plastics, personal care products, and other consumer goods, raising specific concerns for pregnant women and women with increased susceptibility to metabolic diseases such as PCOS.
“The identification of more than 1000 EDC in food, air, water, pesticides, plastics, personal care products, and other consumer goods, raises specific concerns for pregnant women and women with increased susceptibility to metabolic diseases such as PCOS [36,172,192,193,194].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: An Evolutionary Adaptation to Lifestyle and the Environment (2022) · cites this paper as [194]
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“The identification of more than 1000 EDC in food, air, water, pesticides, plastics, personal care products, and other consumer goods, raises specific concerns for pregnant women and women with increased susceptibility to metabolic diseases like PCOS (36,171,191,195,196).”
Background
- Authors
- Eskenazi, B., Chevrier, J., Rauch, S. A., Kogut, K., Harley, K. G., Johnson, C., Trujillo, C., Sjödin, A., & Bradman, A.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
- Corresponding author
- Eskenazi, Brenda
- ORCID
- Venue
- Environmental Health Perspectives
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2012-11-15
- Volume
- 121
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 257-262
- ISSN
- 0091-6765 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-9924
- PMC
- PMC3569691
- OpenAlex
- W115538672
- Cited by
- 421
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 48 · 2015: 52 · 2014: 46 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 27.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- public-domain
- creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (vor, 1870 d)
- Locations
- Environmental Health Perspectives (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- Funders
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (RD83171001, RO1 ES015572, RD 826709, PO1 ES009605)
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (RD 83171001, RD 826709)
- University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (RD 83171001)
- National Institutes of Health (PO1 ES009605)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES015572, RO1 ES015572, R01ES015572, PO1ES009605, P01ES009605, ES009605, RD 83171001)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Keywords
- polybrominated diphenyl ethers, flame retardants, prenatal exposure, children's exposure, brain development, attention deficits, fine motor coordination, cognitive development, IQ, endocrine disruptors, neurotoxicity, CHAMACOS cohort
- MeSH terms
- Central Nervous System, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Male, Mexico, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Prospective Studies, Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
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