Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers and predisposition to frustration at 7 months: Results from the MIREC study

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.06.010

Language of the publication
English
Date
2018-06-22
Type
Article
Author(s)
  • Oulhote, Youssef
  • Tremblay, Émilie
  • Arbuckle, Tye E.
  • Fraser, William D.
  • Lemelin, Jean-Pascal
  • Séguin, Jean R.
  • Ouellet, Emmanuel
  • Forget-Dubois, Nadine
  • Ayotte, Pierre
  • Boivin, Michel
  • Dionne, Ginette
  • Lanphear, Bruce P.
  • Muckle, Gina
Publisher
Elsevier

Abstract

Background Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) has been associated with cognitive deficits and behavioral problems in children. To date, no study has examined this exposure in association with neurobehavioral development in infants younger than 12 months assessed with observational tasks. Objectives This study examined the relation between prenatal PBDE concentrations and predisposition to frustration, assessed by the arm restraint task (ART), in Canadian infants. Methods In a prospective longitudinal study conducted in Canada, exposure to nine PBDE congeners was measured in maternal plasma during the first trimester of pregnancy. The ART was used to measure predisposition to frustration in infancy (N = 333; mean age = 6.9 months), as assessed by negative vocalizations (crying and screaming) and physical reactivity (discomfort movements). Results Maternal plasma PBDE-47 concentrations collected during pregnancy were associated with negative vocalizations using the ART (adjusted Relative Risk [aRR] = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.09). Prenatal PBDE-99 concentrations during pregnancy were also related to a shift to the left in the tail of the distribution of onset of negative vocalizations as measured by a decrease of 38 s (95% CI: −78.1, 1.3) in the 75th quantile of the distribution for infants whose mothers had detectable levels of PBDE-99 compared to infants of mothers with undetectable levels. Similarly, infants whose mothers had detectable levels of PBDE-100 showed an increase of 24.1 s (95% CI: 4.1, 44.1) in the 75th quantile of the distribution of proportion of time in negative vocalizations compared with infants of mothers with undetectable levels. Finally, the association between PBDE-47 and PBDE-153, and physical reactivity was significantly modified by sex (p < 0.1), with opposite patterns in girls and boys. Conclusions Prenatal exposure to PBDEs was associated with increased incidence of crying and screaming with delayed onset of discomfort movement, which may indicate a predisposition to frustration and lack of habituation in infants younger than 12 months from the general population.

Plain language summary

Health Canada is responsible for the assessment and management of health risks, including those associated with exposure to chemicals in the environment. Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) are commercially produced substances that are used as flame retardants in a wide variety of consumer products. Prenatal exposure to PBDEs has been associated with cognitive deficits and behavioral problems in children. To date, no study has examined whether prenatal exposure to PBDEs is associated with how infants younger than 12 months respond to a stressful situation (an arm restraint task). In this study, the levels of several PBDEs were measured in first trimester maternal plasma from the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) Study. At around 7 months of age, a measure of the infant’s tendency to be frustrated during a stressful situation was assessed by an arm restraint task in 334 infants. Prenatal exposure to higher levels of some PBDEs was associated with more infant crying during the task, while other PBDEs were associated with the infant staying still longer. This is the first study to report that prenatal exposure to some PBDEs was associated with different responses to a frustrating situation in infants younger than 12 months, a potential predictor of later behavioral problems in childhood. The results of this study will help to inform Health Canada risk assessment and risk management activities as well as public health measures aimed at protecting this vulnerable population from the potential effects, if any, of exposure to environmental chemicals.

Subject

  • Health,
  • Health and safety

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