Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: Several studies suggest that exposure to organophosphate insecticides (OP) during pregnancy impairs neurodevelopment in children. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated associations between biomarkers of prenatal and postnatal OP exposure and cognitive function of 6-year-olds in a French longitudinal birth cohort. METHODS: In 2002-2006, the PELAGIE mother-child cohort enrolled pregnant women from Brittany. For a random subcohort, we measured nonspecific dialkylphosphate metabolites (DAP) of OP in one maternal urine sample, collected before 19 weeks' gestation, and in one urine sample collected from their 6-year-old children. Six subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-4th edition (WISC-IV) was administered at 6 years to evaluate cognitive function (n=231). Linear regression models controlling for factors including maternal intelligence and the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment score were used. RESULTS: WISC-IV scores were not significantly associated with prenatal or childhood total DAP metabolites. WISC verbal comprehension score was significantly higher in association with the highest maternal urinary concentrations of diethylphosphate metabolites (DE) (5.5; 95% CI: 0.8, 10.3 for extgreater 13.2 nmol/L versus extlessLOQ), while WISC working memory score was significantly lower in association with the highest urinary concentrations of DE metabolites at age 6 years (-3.6; 95% CI: -7.8, -0.6 for extgreater 11.1 nmol/L versus extlessLOD). CONCLUSION: This study found no evidence that prenatal OP exposure adversely affected cognitive function in 6-year-olds, perhaps because of the higher population's socioeconomic status than in previous studies though other causal and non-causal explanations are also possible. The negative association between WISC score and concurrent DE urinary concentrations requires replication by longitudinal studies investigating childhood OP exposure
Environmental Health Perspectives

hal-01207282
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01207282
DOI : 10.1289/ehp.1409472
PUBMED : 26394442

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Background/AimEpidemiological studies reported that prenatal solvent exposure was associated with adverse neurobehavioral outcomes that suggest impaired motor inhibition function. Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) among children aged 10-12 years old, we aimed at investigating the effect of prenatal exposure to solvents on the activation of cerebral regions involved in the motor inhibition function.
International Society of Environmental Epidemiology
Sydney, Australia

inserm-01578506
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01578506

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Partant du présupposé selon lequel les sciences, par leurs prétentions à l'universalité, constitueraient un terrain privilégié pour réunir des communautés fonctionnant sur des valeurs très différentes, notre recherche vise deux objectifs : la conception d'un outil permettant l'apprentissage des sciences à des enfants roms âgés de 6 à 8 ans, non scolarisés ; une évaluation de l'impact de cet outil en terme de scolarisation.
Un premier prototype a été conçu : une mallette contenant du matériel non coûteux et généralement disponible dans les foyers, permettant aux enfants de conduire aisément des expérimentations sur des sujets en relation avec des préoccupations proches de leur milieu de vie.
L'étude en cours concerne trois communautés roms de Roumanie, ayant de jeunes enfants non scolarisés. Lors d'une première visite, le matériel est présenté aux familles et les participants volontaires sont accompagnés lors de la réalisation des premières expérimentations. La mallette étant laissée à leur disposition, les familles sont visitées une seconde fois, un mois plus tard, pour discuter avec les utilisateurs des activités qu'ils ont pu conduire et leur apporter des explications.
On s'attend à ce que, au moyen de cet outil, les enfants accèdent à des connaissances scientifiques inaccessibles d'ordinaire au sein de leurs communautés et à ce que les familles transforment leur regard sur l'école et l'investissent comme moyen d'accéder à des connaissances utiles.
Nous présenterons dans cette communication les principes à la base de la conception des activités contenues dans la mallette, leur mise en œuvre dans les trois communautés ainsi que l'évaluation réalisée.
Différences et inéquités : enjeux culturels et scolaires pour les sciences et les techniques
Chamonix, France

halshs-00280412
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00280412

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Résumé : International audience
Background: Glycol ethers (GE) are widely used organic solvents. Despite the potential neurotoxicity of several families of organic solvents, little is known about the impact of GE on the neurodevelopment of infants and children. Objectives: We investigated the relation between urinary concentrations of GE metabolites in pregnant women and neurocognitive abilities in their 6-year-old children in the PELAGIE mother-child cohort. Methods: Five GE metabolites were measured in first morning void urine samples of 204 French pregnant women in early pregnancy (<19 weeks of gestation). Psychologists assessed the neurocognitive abilities of their 6-year-old children with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children IV (WISC) and the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment (NEPSY). We analyzed the results with linear (WISC) and Poisson regression models (NEPSY), adjusted for potential confounders, including child's stimulation at home. Results: GE metabolites were detected in 90-100% of maternal urine samples. The WISC Verbal Comprehension score was significantly lower for children with the highest tertile of urinary phenoxyacetic acid (PhAA) [beta (third vs. first tertile)=-6.53; 95% CI: -11.44, -1.62]. Similarly, the NEPSY Design Copying subtest score was lower in those with the highest tertile of urinary ethoxyacetic acid (EAA) [beta (third vs. first tertile)=-0.11; 95% CI: -0.21, 0.00]. The other GE metabolites we studied were not significantly associated with WISC or NEPSY scores. Conclusions: Prenatal urine concentrations of two GE metabolites were associated with lower WISC Verbal Comprehension Index scores and NEPSY Design Copying subscale scores, respectively, at age 6 years. PhAA is the primary metabolite of 2-phenoxyethanol (EGPhE), which is commonly found in cosmetics, and precursors of EAA are frequently used in cleaning agents. Additional research is needed to confirm our findings and further explore potential effects of prenatal GE exposures on neurocognitive performance in children.
ISSN: 0091-6765

hal-01519256
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01519256
DOI : 10.1289/EHP39
PUBMED : 27740510

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Pyrethroid insecticides are widely used in agriculture and in homes. Despite the neurotoxicity of these insecticides at high doses, few studies have examined whether lower-level exposures could adversely affect children's neurodevelopment. The PELAGIE cohort included 3421 pregnant women from Brittany, France between 2002 and 2006. When their children reached their sixth birthday, 428 mothers from the cohort were randomly selected, successfully contacted and found eligible. A total of 287 (67%) mothers agreed to participate with their children in the neuropsychological follow-up. Two cognitive domains were assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: verbal comprehension and working memory. Five pyrethroid and two organophosphate insecticide metabolites were measured in maternal and child first-void urine samples collected between 6 and 19 gestational weeks and at 6 years of age, respectively. Linear regression models were used to estimate associations between cognitive scores and urinary pyrethroid metabolite concentrations, adjusting for organophosphate metabolite concentrations and potential confounders. Maternal prenatal pyrethroid metabolite concentrations were not consistently associated with any children's cognitive scores. By contrast, childhood 3-PBA and cis-DBCA concentrations were both negatively associated with verbal comprehension scores (P-trend = 0.04 and P-trend < 0.01, respectively) and with working memory scores (P-trend = 0.05 and P-trend < 0.01, respectively). No associations were observed for the three other childhood pyrethroid metabolite concentrations (4-F-3-PBA, cis-DCCA, and trans-DCCA). Low-level childhood exposures to deltamethrin (as cis-DBCA is its principal and selective metabolite), in particular, and to pyrethroid insecticides, in general (as reflected in levels of the 3-PBA metabolite) may negatively affect neurocognitive development by 6 years of age. Whatever their etiology, these cognitive deficits may be of importance educationally, because cognitive impairments in children interfere with learning and social development. Potential causes that can be prevented are of paramount public health importance
ISSN: 0160-4120

hal-01162374
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01162374
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01162374/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01162374/file/Pyrethroid%20insecticide%20exposure.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.envint.2015.05.009