Urinary 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) levels among pregnant women in Mexico City: Distribution and relationships with child neurodevelopment

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Deborah J. Watkins, University of Michigan; Gamola Z. Fortenberry, University of Michigan; Brisa N. Sanchez, University of Michigan; Dana Barr, Emory University; Parinya Panuwet, Emory University; Lourdes Schnaas, Natl Inst Perinatol; Erika Osorio-Valencia, Natl Inst Perinatol; Maritsa Solano-Gonzalez, Natl Inst Publ Hlth; Adrienne S. Ettinger, Yale University; Mauricio Hernandez-Avila, Natl Inst Publ Hlth; Howard Hu, University of Toronto; Martha Maria Tellez-Rojo, Natl Inst Publ Hlth; John D. Meeker, University of Michigan
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-05-01
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2016 Elsevier Inc.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.02.025
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Environmental Research
• ISSN: 0013-9351
• Volume: 147
• Start Page: 307
• End Page: 313
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant numbers: R01ES021446, 01ES007821, R01ES021465, P42ES017198, P01ES022844, P30ES017885, and P30ES019776: by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, grant number:R835436; by the National Institute of Public Health (INSP)/Ministry of Health of Mexico; by Consejo Nacional De Ciencia Y Tecnología (CONACyT) grant number: 4150M9405; and by the Consejo de Estudios para La Restauración y Valoración Ambiental (CONSERVA), Department of Federal District, México.
• Keywords: neurodevelopment; AGE; URBAN; INDOOR; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; ORGANOPHOSPHATE PESTICIDE EXPOSURE; pesticide exposure; Science & Technology; BLOOD; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; AMERICAN CHILDREN; in utero; BREAST-MILK LEAD; POPULATION; BSID-II; METABOLITES; PYRETHROID INSECTICIDES; Environmental Sciences; pyrethroid; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Toxicology; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Background: In recent years, pyrethroid pesticide use has increased in Mexico, the United States, and elsewhere, resulting in extensive human exposure. There is growing concern that pregnant women may be a particularly vulnerable population, as in utero fetal exposure during critical periods of development could adversely affect long-term neurobehavioral function. Methods: We measured maternal urinary 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) concentrations during the third trimester of pregnancy as a measure of in utero pyrethroid exposure to the fetus among participants in an established Mexico City birth cohort (n=187). In a subset of mothers, we measured 3-PBA during the first, second, and third trimester (n=21) to assess variability across pregnancy. We examined associations between third trimester 3-PBA concentrations and children's scores on the Mental Development Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) from the Bayley Scales for Infant Development (BSID-IIS) at 24 and 36 months of age. Results: 3-PBA was detected in 46% of all urine samples, with similar detection rates and geometric mean concentrations across pregnancy among the 21 participants who provided repeat samples. Participants in the medium and high 3-PBA categories (≥LOD) had lower MDI scores at 24 months compared to those in the low 3-PBA category (<LOD) after adjustment for covariates (ptrend=0.07), with slightly stronger associations among female children. The 3-level categorical variable for third trimester in utero 3-PBA was not associated with MDI scores at 36 months, or with PDI scores at either time point. Conclusion: Considering the widespread agricultural and residential use of pyrethroids worldwide and the implications of cognitive and behavioral deficits, our findings indicate that additional study of in utero pyrethroid exposure and neurodevelopment in a larger study population is needed.