Exposure to metals during pregnancy and early childhood can alter the neuropsychomotor development of children.
[vc_row mobile_bg_img_hidden=”no” tablet_bg_img_hidden=”no” woodmart_parallax=”0″ woodmart_gradient_switch=”no” row_reverse_mobile=”0″ row_reverse_tablet=”0″ woodmart_disable_overflow=”0″][vc_column mobile_bg_img_hidden=”no” tablet_bg_img_hidden=”no” woodmart_parallax=”0″ woodmart_sticky_column=”false” parallax_scroll=”no” mobile_reset_margin=”no” tablet_reset_margin=”no”][vc_column_text text_larger=”no”]Metals are important environmental pollutants that may be linked to alterations in the neurological development of children. Agência de Registro de Substâncias Tóxicas e Doenças (ATSDR) considers the metals arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) as metals of public health concern, based on a combination of frequency, toxicity, and potential for human exposure to these metals. Exposure to these pollutants in the environment occurs through air, water, and food.
The Rio Birth Cohort Study on Environmental Exposure and Child Development (PIPA Project) is a prospective cohort study conducted at the Maternity School of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil, with the objective of investigating the effects of environmental pollutants on maternal and child health. A pilot study (PIPA Pilot Study) was conducted between September 2017 and August 2018, with 142 pregnant women enrolled and 135 children born at the Maternity School of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
We recently investigated possible associations between concentrations of metals in maternal and umbilical cord blood and the neurological development of newborns in the PIPA pilot study population. Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury were detected in 100% of samples from mothers and newborns above the detection limits. One-third of infants (n = 17–35.4%) had at least one failure in the neurodevelopmental assessment performed using the Denver II Developmental Screening Test (Denver II). Maternal blood arsenic concentrations were significantly (p = 0.03) higher in children who had at least one failure (geometric mean: 11.85 µg/L) compared to infants who did not have any failures (geometric mean: 8.47 µg/L).
These findings indicate the need for further investigation into the toxic effects of prenatal metal exposure on child neurodevelopment.
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