Gestational DOT and DDE concentrations and cognitive outcomes at age 5 in the Child Health and Development Study

摘要

Background: Gestational exposure to DOT, a persistent pesticide banned in many western countries but used widely elsewhere for mosquito control, has been associated with lower performance on tests of cognitive function and development among children, although findings have been mixed. Aims: To evaluate the role of DDT and DDE during peak usage in the United States on children's cognitive function at 5-years of age. Methods: We used a subsample (N=399) of mother-child pairs from the Child Health and Development Study, a prospective birth cohort study conducted in the 1960's in Northern California, to evaluate the association between maternal serum concentrations of lipid-adjusted concentrations of DDT and DDE (μg/g) and cognitive scores at 5-years of age in linear regression models. Cognitive performance was measured by standardized scores on the Raven's Progressive Matrices and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary (PPV). Both tests had a standard deviation of 10 points. Results: In models adjusted for confounders and maternal PCB concentrations, the highest quartiles of p,p-DDE, and p,p-DDT corresponded with an average loss of 6 and 4 points on the Raven's test (60% and 40% of a standard deviation), compared to the lowest quartile (reference). On scores for the Peabody test, children born to mothers with the highest quartile of p,p-DDT concentrations had an average loss of 3.5 points (35% of a standard deviation) compared to the lowest quartile. Conclusions:Women working in industries with DDT exposure or who live in areas with indoor residual DDT spraying may be at risk of achieving exposures high enough to impact their child's cognitive performance. Additional routes of exposure in countries with longstanding DDT bans include consumption of fatty meats and food imported from areas where DDT is still in use, which are both modifiable dietary risks.