Prenatal exposure to phthalates and neurodevelopment in children

摘要 邻苯二甲酸酯是用于个人护理产品和柔性塑料产品的合成化学品。与.一起 它们的代谢物邻苯二甲酸酯在人体内迅速排泄，半衰期为5-24小时。暴露于 邻苯二甲酸酯是无处不在的，因为它们的广泛使用和它们很容易渗入环境中的能力。 邻苯二甲酸酯是一种扰乱内分泌的化学物质，可能会干扰神经内分泌途径，参与 神经发育，包括抗雄激素活性和甲状腺激素动态平衡。胎儿期是 由于大脑发育迅速，这是一个特别敏感的邻苯二甲酸盐暴露目标。以前的研究 邻苯二甲酸酯和神经发育受限于小样本量、横断面设计和有限的数据。 神经发育。建议的研究的主要目的是调查产前的相关性。 儿童和青春期接触邻苯二甲酸盐与认知和行为发育的关系。我们会 在萨利纳斯母亲和儿童健康评估中心检查这些关系 (CHAMACOS)，这是一个大型的、特征良好的纵向产前母亲队列，在1999年至2000年期间招募 怀孕和他们的后代。我们将分析母体邻苯二甲酸盐水平的现有数据，测量两次 在怀孕期间(~13周和26周)，与队列中关于神经发育的广泛数据有关 测量了336名儿童从7岁到青春期的暴露和结果数据。我们会 检查与下列结果的关系：(1)一般认知，(2)执行功能，(3)注意力 问题、外化行为和内化行为；(4)社会认知。这项研究将需要 CHAMACOS队列在教师和家长评定量表上收集的纵向数据的优势 作为客观的、以表现为基础的测试。此外，这将是第一次研究 邻苯二甲酸盐在青春期的神经发育测量，这是早期生命表现的关键时期 曝光效果。这项研究的结果，将进一步加深我们对早期生活的长期影响的理解 暴露在邻苯二甲酸盐对神经发育的影响，具有重要的政策意义，因为 在个人护理产品中接触到这些化学物质是可以修改的，在 敏感的时间窗口，如怀孕。

ABSTRACT Phthalates are synthetic chemicals used in personal care products and in flexible plastic products. Along with their metabolites, phthalates are rapidly excreted in humans with half-lives of 5-24 hours. Exposure to phthalates is ubiquitous because of their widespread use and their ability to leach easily into the environment. Phthalates are endocrine-disrupting chemicals that may interfere with neuroendocrine pathways involved in neurodevelopment, including anti-androgenic activity and thyroid hormone homeostasis. The prenatal period is a particularly sensitive target for phthalate exposure due to rapid brain development. Previous studies of phthalates and neurodevelopment are limited by small sample size, cross-sectional design, and limited data on neurodevelopment. The primary objective of the proposed research is to investigate the association of prenatal exposure to phthalates with cognitive and behavioral development in childhood and adolescence. We will examine these relationships in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), a large, well-characterized longitudinal pre-birth cohort of mothers recruited 1999-2000 during pregnancy and their offspring. We will analyze existing data on maternal phthalate levels, measured twice during pregnancy (~13 and 26 weeks), in relation to the cohort's extensive data on neurodevelopment measured from age 7 years until adolescence for 336 children with exposure and outcome data. We will examine associations with the following outcomes: (1) general cognition, (2) executive function, (3) attention problems, externalizing behaviors and internalizing behaviors, and (4) social cognition. This study will take advantage of the CHAMACOS cohort's longitudinal data collected on teacher- and parent-rated scales as well as objective, performance-based tests. Additionally, this will be the first study to examine associations of phthalates with neurodevelopmental measures in adolescence, a critical time for manifestations of early life exposure effects. Results of this study, which will further our understanding of the long-term impact of early-life exposure to phthalates on neurodevelopment, have important policy implications given that widespread exposure to these chemicals in personal care products is modifiable and alternatives may be available during sensitive time windows, such as pregnancy.