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Rosa MJ, Foppa Pedretti N, Goldson B, Mathews N, Merced-Nieves F, Xhani N, Bosquet Enlow M, Gershon R, Ho E, Huddleston K, Wright RO, Wright RJ, Colicino E. Integrating Data Across Multiple Sites in the Northeastern United States to Examine Associations Between a Prenatal Metal Mixture and Child Cognition. Am J Epidemiol 2024; 193:606-616. [PMID: 37981721 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwad233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023] Open
Abstract
We applied a novel hierarchical Bayesian weighted quantile sum (HBWQS) regression to combine data across 3 study sites to examine associations between prenatal exposure to metals and cognitive functioning in childhood. Data from 326 mother-child dyads enrolled in an ongoing cohort study, the Programming of Intergenerational Stress Mechanisms (PRISM) Study, based in New York, New York (recruitment in 2013-2020) and Boston, Massachusetts (recruitment 2011-2013), and the First Thousand Days of Life (FTDL) cohort study (recruitment 2012-2019), based in northern Virginia, were used. Arsenic, cadmium, manganese, lead, and antimony were measured in urine collected during pregnancy. Cognitive functioning was assessed in children aged 3-11 years using the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognition Battery. The HBWQS regression showed a negative association between the urinary metal mixture and the Cognition Early Childhood Composite Score in the PRISM New York City (β = -3.67, 95% credible interval (CrI): -7.61, -0.01) and FTDL (β = -3.76, 95% CrI: -7.66, -0.24) samples, with a similar trend in the PRISM Boston sample (β = -3.24, 95% CrI: -6.77, 0.144). We did not detect these associations in traditionally pooled models. HBWQS regression allowed us to account for site heterogeneity and detect associations between prenatal metal-mixture exposure and cognitive outcomes in childhood. Given the ubiquity of metals exposure, interventions aimed at reducing prenatal exposure may improve cognitive outcomes in children. This article is part of a Special Collection on Environmental Epidemiology.
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Schildroth S, Kordas K, White RF, Friedman A, Placidi D, Smith D, Lucchini RG, Wright RO, Horton M, Claus Henn B. An Industry-Relevant Metal Mixture, Iron Status, and Reported Attention-Related Behaviors in Italian Adolescents. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2024; 132:27008. [PMID: 38363634 PMCID: PMC10871126 DOI: 10.1289/ehp12988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exposure to environmental metals has been consistently associated with attention and behavioral deficits in children, and these associations may be modified by coexposure to other metals or iron (Fe) status. However, few studies have investigated Fe status as a modifier of a metal mixture, particularly with respect to attention-related behaviors. METHODS We used cross-sectional data from the Public Health Impact of Metals Exposure study, which included 707 adolescents (10-14 years of age) from Brescia, Italy. Manganese, chromium, and copper were quantified in hair samples, and lead was quantified in whole blood, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Concentrations of Fe status markers (ferritin, hemoglobin, transferrin) were measured using immunoassays or luminescence assays. Attention-related behaviors were assessed using the Conners Rating Scales Self-Report Scale-Long Form, Parent Rating Scales Revised-Short Form, and Teacher Rating Scales Revised-Short Form. We employed Bayesian kernel machine regression to examine associations of the metal mixture with these outcomes and evaluate Fe status as a modifier. RESULTS Higher concentrations of the metals and ferritin were jointly associated with worse self-reported attention-related behaviors: metals and ferritin set to their 90th percentiles were associated with 3.0% [β = 0.03 ; 95% credible interval (CrI): - 0.01 , 0.06], 4.1% (β = 0.04 ; 95% CrI: 0.00, 0.08), and 4.1% (β = 0.04 ; 95% CrI: 0.00, 0.08) higher T -scores for self-reported attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) index, inattention, and hyperactivity, respectively, compared with when metals and ferritin were set to their 50th percentiles. These associations were driven by hair manganese, which exhibited nonlinear associations with all self-reported scales. There was no evidence that Fe status modified the neurotoxicity of the metal mixture. The metal mixture was not materially associated with any parent-reported or teacher-reported scale. CONCLUSIONS The overall metal mixture, driven by manganese, was adversely associated with self-reported attention-related behavior. These findings suggest that exposure to multiple environmental metals impacts adolescent neurodevelopment, which has significant public health implications. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12988.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Schildroth
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Katarzyna Kordas
- Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Roberta F. White
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Alexa Friedman
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Donatella Placidi
- Department of Occupational Health, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Donald Smith
- Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA
| | - Roberto G. Lucchini
- Department of Occupational Health, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Robert O. Wright
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Megan Horton
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Birgit Claus Henn
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Rokoff LB, Coull BA, Bosquet Enlow M, Korrick SA. Associations of Prenatal Chemical and Nonchemical Stressors with Early-Adulthood Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2023; 131:27004. [PMID: 36749608 PMCID: PMC9904409 DOI: 10.1289/ehp11171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals may increase risk of childhood internalizing problems, but few studies have explored the potential for longer-term consequences of such exposures. OBJECTIVE We evaluated associations between prenatal organochlorine and metal levels and early adulthood internalizing symptoms, considering whether sociodemographic/nonchemical stressors modified these associations. METHODS Participants were 209 young adults, born (1993-1998) to mothers residing in or near New Bedford, Massachusetts. As part of the early-adult assessment, self-reported anxiety (7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale) and depressive (8-item Patient Health Questionnaire) symptoms (≥10: elevated symptoms) were ascertained. We previously analyzed levels of cord serum organochlorines [hexachlorobenzene, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE), polychlorinated biphenyls (ΣPCB4: sum of congeners 118, 138, 153, 180)] and whole blood lead shortly after participants' birth, and levels of cord whole blood manganese from archived samples at the time of the adolescent study visit. We used modified Poisson regression models and quantile g-computation, adjusting for sociodemographics, and explored whether biological sex, race/ethnicity (proxy for unmeasured consequences of racism), prenatal social disadvantage (assessed when participants were neonates), and quality of the home environment (assessed during adolescence) modified these associations. RESULTS Participants were (mean±standard deviation) 22.1±1.5 y old, 76% Non-Hispanic White, and 67% female. Prenatal hexachlorobenzene, p,p'-DDE, and lead exposures were moderately associated with increased risk of elevated anxiety symptoms. There were strata-specific associations for prenatal social disadvantage and quality of home environment such that adverse associations of p,p'-DDE and lead and the overall mixture with anxiety and depressive symptoms were largely only evident in those with lower nonchemical stress [e.g., risk ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) per doubling p,p'-DDE for anxiety: 1.54 (95% CI: 1.20, 1.99) in high-quality home environments and 0.77 (95% CI: 0.51, 1.16) in low-quality home environments]. Associations between prenatal hexachlorobenzene and p,p'-DDE and anxiety symptoms were stronger for underrepresented racial/ethnic group participants vs. Non-Hispanic Whites. We found minimal evidence for sex-specific effects, and no consistent associations with manganese or ΣPCB4. DISCUSSION Prenatal organochlorine pesticides and lead exposure possibly increases risk of internalizing problems, particular anxiety symptoms, in young adults. Varying risk was observed by sociodemographic/nonchemical stressor strata, demonstrating the importance of considering interactions between chemical and other stressors. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11171.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa B. Rokoff
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Population Health Sciences Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Brent A. Coull
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michelle Bosquet Enlow
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Susan A. Korrick
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Oppenheimer AV, Bellinger DC, Coull BA, Weisskopf MG, Korrick SA. The association of prenatal manganese exposure with problem-solving skills and its mediation by the building blocks of executive function. Neurotoxicology 2022; 92:191-199. [PMID: 35995271 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2022.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Problem-solving skills build upon three core executive functions: inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. There is evidence of adverse associations of prenatal exposure to manganese (Mn) with core executive functions, but less is known about Mn associations with problem-solving or potential mediators of this association. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate the association of prenatal Mn exposure with problem-solving and to identify potential neuropsychological mechanisms through which this association may be mediated. METHODS Study participants were 410 adolescents from the New Bedford Cohort (NBC) who have undergone periodic evaluations since their birth (1993-1998) to mothers residing near a Massachusetts Superfund site. We investigated the association of cord blood Mn with problem-solving measured by the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Sorting and Tower subtests (scores scaled to a mean ± SD of 10 ± 3) using multivariable linear regression. Inhibition and cognitive flexibility were also measured by the D-KEFS; working memory was measured with the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning, 2nd edition. Regression-based causal mediation analysis was used to assess the proportion of the Mn-problem-solving association mediated by inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility individually and jointly. RESULTS NBC adolescents (mean age 15.5 years) were socio-demographically diverse with 31 % in a low-income household at birth and had cord blood Mn concentrations similar to other general population samples. Mn was associated with Sorting but not Tower scores. Specifically, a doubling of cord blood Mn concentrations was associated with - 0.59 points lower (95 % CI: -1.16, -0.03) Sort Recognition score. In mediation analyses, there was suggestive evidence that inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility combined mediated 30 % of the total effect of Mn on Sorting. When analyzed individually, working memory mediated a larger proportion (24 %) of the effect than inhibition or cognitive flexibility. DISCUSSION We observed adverse associations of cord blood Mn with problem-solving among adolescents. There was suggestive evidence that the building blocks of executive function jointly, and working memory individually, were potentially important mediators of this association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna V Oppenheimer
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - David C Bellinger
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brent A Coull
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marc G Weisskopf
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Susan A Korrick
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Oppenheimer AV, Bellinger DC, Coull BA, Weisskopf MG, Korrick SA. Prenatal Exposure to Chemical Mixtures and Cognitive Flexibility among Adolescents. TOXICS 2021; 9:toxics9120329. [PMID: 34941764 PMCID: PMC8708222 DOI: 10.3390/toxics9120329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility, the ability to smoothly adapt to changing circumstances, is a skill that is vital to higher-level executive functions such as problem-solving, planning, and reasoning. As it undergoes substantial development during adolescence, decrements in cognitive flexibility may not become apparent until this time. There is evidence that prenatal exposure to individual chemicals may adversely impact executive functions in children, but few studies have explored the association of co-exposure to multiple chemicals with cognitive flexibility specifically among adolescents. We investigated this association among a diverse group of adolescents living near a Superfund site in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Specifically, using Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) and multivariable regression analyses, we investigated the association of biomarkers of prenatal exposure to organochlorines (DDE, HCB, PCBs) and metals (lead, manganese) with cognitive flexibility, measured with four subtests of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System. In BKMR models, we observed adverse joint associations of the chemical mixture with two of the four cognitive flexibility subtests. In covariate-adjusted linear regression models, a two-fold increase in cord blood Mn was associated with poorer performance on two of the subtests: Trail-Making (scaled score difference = −0.60; 95% CI: −1.16, −0.05 points) and Color-Word Interference (scaled score difference = −0.53; 95% CI: −1.08, 0.01 points). These adverse Mn-cognitive flexibility associations were supported by the results of the BKMR. There was little evidence of effect modification by sex and some evidence of effect modification by a measure of social disadvantage, particularly for the associations between HCB and cognitive flexibility. This study is among the first to provide evidence of an adverse association of prenatal exposure to a chemical mixture with cognitive flexibility in adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna V. Oppenheimer
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (D.C.B.); (B.A.C.); (M.G.W.); (S.A.K.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-781-264-0697
| | - David C. Bellinger
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (D.C.B.); (B.A.C.); (M.G.W.); (S.A.K.)
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Brent A. Coull
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (D.C.B.); (B.A.C.); (M.G.W.); (S.A.K.)
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Marc G. Weisskopf
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (D.C.B.); (B.A.C.); (M.G.W.); (S.A.K.)
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Susan A. Korrick
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (D.C.B.); (B.A.C.); (M.G.W.); (S.A.K.)
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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