Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Chlordecone is a persistent organochlorine pesticide that was used in the French West Indies until the early 1990s for banana weevil borer control. Human exposure to this chemical in this area still occurs nowadays due to consumption of contaminated food. Although adverse effects on neurodevelopment, including tremors and memory deficits, have been documented in experimental studies conducted with rodents exposed during the gestational and neonatal periods, no study has been conducted yet to determine if chlordecone alters child development. This study examines the relation of gestational and postnatal exposure to chlordecone to infant development at 18 months of age in a birth-cohort of Guadeloupean children. In a prospective longitudinal study conducted in Guadeloupe (Timoun mother-child cohort study), exposure to chlordecone was measured at birth from an umbilical cord blood sample (n=141) and from a breast milk sample collected at 3 months postpartum (n=75). Toddlers were assessed using an adapted version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Higher chlordecone concentrations in cord blood were associated with poorer fine motor scores. When analyses were conducted separately for boys and girls, this effect was only observed among boys. These results suggest that prenatal exposure to chlordecone is associated with specific impairments in fine motor function in boys, and add to the growing evidence that exposure to organochlorine pesticides early in life impairs child development.
ISSN: 0161-813X

hal-00875907
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00875907
PUBMED : 23376090
DOI : 10.1016/j.neuro.2013.01.007

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Mixtures of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are present in indoor environments. Studies of the developmental effects of exposure to these chemicals in large prospective mother-child cohorts are required, with data on prenatal exposure and long-term follow-up of the children. We aimed to investigate the relationship between prenatal and childhood exposure to PBDEs and neurodevelopment at the age of six years. We determined the levels of PBDEs and other neurotoxicants in cord blood and dust collected from the homes of children for 246 families included in the PELAGIE mother-child cohort in France. We assessed two cognitive domains of the six-year-old children using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV. Verbal comprehension scores were lower in children from homes with higher concentrations of BDE99 (βDetects < median_vs_NonDetects = −1.6; 95% CI: −6.1, 2.9; βDetects≥median_vs_NonDetects = −5.4; −9.9, −1.0; ptrend = 0.02) and of BDE209 (β2nd_vs₁st_tertile = −1.8; 95% CI: −6.1, 2.5; β3rd_vs₁st_tertile = −3.2; −7.5, 1.2; ptrend = 0.15) in dust, particularly for boys (ptrend = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively). Working memory scores seemed to be lower in children with higher BDE99 concentrations in dust (ptrend = 0.10). No association was observed with cord blood levels of BDE209. Our findings are in agreement with those of four previous studies suggesting adverse cognitive outcomes among children associated with early-life exposure to penta-BDE mixtures, and provide new evidence for the potential neurotoxicity of BDE209. Several countries are in the process of banning the use of PBDE mixtures as flame-retardants. However, these compounds are likely to remain present in the environment for a long time to come
ISSN: 0161-813X

hal-01286255
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01286255
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01286255/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01286255/file/Childhood%20exposure%20to%20polybrominated%20diphenyl-accepted.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.neuro.2016.03.002

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: The insecticide chlordecone was extensively used in the French West Indies to control banana root borer. Its persistence in soils has led to the widespread pollution of the environment, and human beings are still exposed to this chemical. Chlordecone has been shown to impair neurological and behavioural functions in rodents when exposed gestationally or neonatally. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of prenatal and postnatal exposure to chlordecone on the cognitive, visual, and motor development of 7-month-old infants from Guadeloupe. METHODS: Infants were tested at 7 months (n=153). Visual recognition memory and processing speed were assessed with the Fagan Tests of Infant Intelligence (FTII), visual acuity with the Teller Acuity Card, and fine motor development with the Brunet-Lezine. Samples of cord blood and breast milk at 3 months (n=88) were analyzed for chlordecone concentrations. Postnatal exposure was determined through breast feeding and frequency of contaminated food consumption by the infants. RESULTS: Cord chlordecone concentrations in tertiles were associated with reduced novelty preference on the FTII in the highly exposed group (β=-0.19, p=0.02). Postnatal exposure through contaminated food consumption was marginally related to reduced novelty preference (β=-0.14, p=0.07), and longer processing speed (β=0.16, p=0.07). Detectable levels of chlordecone in cord blood were associated with higher risk of obtaining low scores on the fine motor development scale (OR=1.25, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that pre- and postnatal low chronic exposure to chlordecone is associated with negative effects on cognitive and motor development during infancy.
ISSN: 0013-9351

hal-00875939
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00875939
DOI : 10.1016/j.envres.2012.07.006
PUBMED : 22910562

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Due to their geographic location and traditional diet, rich in seafood and marine mammals, the Inuit living in Arctic Quebec are exposed to high amounts of pollutants, including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). While the adverse developmental effects of these pesticides on child cognitive functions are well known, the effects of developmental exposure to OP on sensory processes have not been investigated. The aim of this longitudinal study was to assess the effects of prenatal and childhood exposure to 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p'-DDT) and its major metabolite 1,1,-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDE), on visual processing in Inuit children in Nunavik (Arctic Québec). p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE concentrations were determined from umbilical cord and 5- and 11-year plasma samples. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were successfully recorded in 150 children at 4 contrast levels (95%, 30%, 12%, and 4%). Hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to determine the association between p,p'-DDT, or p,p'-DDE, exposure and VEPs while controlling for the effects of various confounders, including fish nutrients and other contaminants. p,p'-DDE measured in umbilical cord plasma was significantly related to the amplitude of the N150 response at the lowest contrast (4%). In addition, 5-year p,p'-DDE plasma concentration was significantly associated with decreased N75 amplitude. These findings indicate that p,p'-DDE exposure, both pre- and postnatally, during early childhood is associated with visual processing impairment later in life.
ISSN: 0161-813X

hal-01061309
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01061309
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01061309/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01061309/file/Prenatal_and_5-year-NEUTOX-D-13-00192R2_v4.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.neuro.2014.04.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD BMJ Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
OBJECTIVES: Many women who work during pregnancy are occupationally exposed to toxicants. The developing central nervous system is highly vulnerable to neurotoxicants such as solvents. Although the neurotoxicity of solvents to adults is well established, very few studies have examined their effects on children's behaviour following prenatal exposure. METHODS: Women from the Perturbateurs endocriniens: Étude Longitudinale sur les Anomalies de la Grossesse, l'Infertilité et l'Enfance (PELAGIE) mother-child cohort (including 3005 working women) were recruited in Brittany (France) between 2002 and 2006, at the beginning of pregnancy, to assess occupational exposure to solvents at that time. Child behaviour was documented at age 2 by mothers (n=1278) assessing components of attention deficit/hyperactivity, aggression, opposition and emotionality. We used a multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate the association between occupational solvent exposure and children's behaviour. Complementary sensitivity analyses allowed us to handle missing data, due mostly to attrition. RESULTS: 20% of women reported occasional exposure and 31% regular exposure to solvents. Children prenatally exposed were more likely to have higher scores of attention deficit/hyperactivity and aggression, and dose-response relations were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The dose-response effect and the high prevalence of children potentially exposed to solvents from their mother's workplace exposure underline the public health relevance of this result. Our results should be replicated in further studies designed to identify which solvents are most deleterious and to assess child behaviour at school age.
ISSN: 1351-0711

inserm-00795043
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00795043
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00795043/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00795043/file/Occupationnal_solvent_exposure_child_behavior_HAL.pdf
DOI : 10.1136/oemed-2012-100892

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Perinatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals may affect thyroid hormones homeostasis and impair brain development. Chlordecone, an organochlorine insecticide widely used in the French West Indies has known estrogenic and progestin properties, but no data is available, human or animal, on its action on thyroid hormone system. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of perinatal exposure to chlordecone on the thyroid hormone system of a sample of infants from the Timoun mother-child cohort in Guadeloupe and their further neurodevelopment. Chlordecone was measured in cord blood and breast milk samples. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free tri-iodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4) were determined in child blood at 3 months (n=111). Toddlers were further assessed at 18 months using an adapted version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). Cord chlordecone was associated with an increase in TSH in boys, whereas postnatal exposure was associated with a decrease in FT3 overall, and in FT4 among girls. Higher TSH level at 3 months was positively associated with the ASQ score of fine motor development at 18 months among boys, but TSH did not modify the association between prenatal chlordecone exposure and poorer ASQ fine motor score. Perinatal exposure to chlordecone may affect TSH and thyroid hormone levels at 3 months, differently according to the sex of the infant. This disruption however did not appear to intervene in the pathway between prenatal chlordecone exposure and fine motor child development.
ISSN: 0013-9351

hal-01134317
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01134317
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01134317/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01134317/file/Perinatal%20exposure%20to%20chlordecone_accepted.pdf
PUBMED : 25747818

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Whereas it is well established that prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can disrupt children's behavior, early postnatal exposure has received relatively little attention in environmental epidemiology. To evaluate prenatal and postnatal exposures to PCB-153, a proxy of total PCB exposure, and their relation to inattention and activity in 5-year-old Inuits from the Cord Blood Monitoring Program. Prenatal exposure to PCBs was informed by cord plasma PCB-153 levels. We used a validated pharmacokinetic model to estimate monthly infants' levels across the first year of life. Inattention and activity were assessed by coding of video recordings of children undergoing fine motor testing. We used multivariable linear regression to evaluate the association between prenatal and postnatal PCB-153 levels and inattention (n=97) and activity (n=98) at 5years of age. Cord plasma PCB-153 was not associated with inattention and activity. Each interquartile range (IQR) increase in estimated infant PCB-153 levels at 2months was associated with a 1.02% increase in the duration of inattention (95% CI: 0.04, 2.00). Statistical adjustment for the duration of breastfeeding slightly increased regression coefficients for postnatal level estimates, some of which became statistically significant for inattention (months: 2-4) and activity (months: 2-5). Our study adds to the growing evidence of postnatal windows of development during which children are more susceptible to neurotoxicants like PCBs.
ISSN: 0160-4120

hal-01134338
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01134338
DOI : 10.1016/j.envint.2015.02.004
PUBMED : 25796081