Berghuis, S.A. (2012) Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and their hydroxylated metabolitesis associated with the quality of motor repertoire in three-month-old infants. thesis, Medicine.
Full text available on request.Abstract
Background: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are still the most abundant pollutants in the environment. PCBs and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PCBs) exert neurotoxic effects on the developing brain. Active transport of OH-PCBs across the placenta and hydroxylation of PCBs by the fetus suggest a greater impact on the fetus of OH-PCBs compared to PCBs. Still, little is known about their short-term health effects, particularly in humans. We aimed to determine whether prenatal exposure to OH-PCBs and PCBs is associated with the quality of the motor repertoire in three-month-old infants. Methods: We included 97 mother-infant pairs in an observational cohort study in the Netherlands. Cord blood samples were taken after delivery and analyzed for PCB and OH-PCB concentrations. The quality of the motor repertoire was evaluated at 3 months post term age from video-recordings. We determined the global quality of General Movements (GMs) and calculated a Motor Optimality Score (MOS) based on several aspects of the motor repertoire. MOS may range from 5 (low optimality) to 28 (high optimality). We explored correlations between PCB/OH-PCB levels and MOS using Spearman’s Rank Correlation test (SPSS 18.0.3). Next, we tested whether PCB/OH-PCBs levels were different in infants with ‘low’ MOS (<26) and ‘high’ MOS (≥26) using the Mann-Whitney U test. P<0.1 was considered possibly relevant, P<0.05 statistically significant. Results: We found no association between PCB/OH-PCB levels and global quality of GMs. Associations existed between several PCB/OH-PCB levels and MOS, including detailed aspects of the motor repertoire. Higher 4-OH-PCB-107 levels were associated with a low MOS (P=0.043), which remained significant (P=0.044) after adjustment for gestational age, gender and age at video-recording. This was due to a reduced repertoire of movement patterns (P=0.080). Regarding PCB-levels, infants prenatally exposed to higher PCB-118 levels showed more often cramped movements (P=0.047). Higher PCB-187 levels were associated with reduced midline arm and leg movements (P=0.040 and P=0.055, respectively). Conclusion: We demonstrated that prenatal exposure to higher 4-OH-PCB-107 levels was associated with a non-optimal quality of the motor repertoire at the age of three months. Exposure to higher PCB-187 and PCB-170 levels was associated with reduced midline movements, and exposure to higher PCB-118 levels was associated with more frequently cramped movements. The negative effect of these compounds on the early neurological development may be mediated by endocrine disruption, and reduced thyroid hormone concentrations in brain.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Thesis) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Supervisor: and Bos, Prof. dr. A.F. Division of Neonatology and University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Jun 2020 11:05 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2020 11:05 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2525 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |