Effects of prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and its composition on cognitive and motor functions in children at 12 months of age: The Shanghai Birth Cohort Study

Xiaoning Lei; Yan Zhang; Zixia Wang; Zhenping Lu; Chengyu Pan; Shanyu Zhang; Qian Chen; Tao Yuan; Jun Zhang; Yu Gao; Ying Tian; Shanghai Birth Cohort Study

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2022.107597

Effects of prenatal exposure to PM_2.5 and its composition on cognitive and motor functions in children at 12 months of age: The Shanghai Birth Cohort Study

Environ Int. 2022 Dec:170:107597. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107597. Epub 2022 Oct 21.

Authors

Xiaoning Lei¹, Yan Zhang², Zixia Wang², Zhenping Lu², Chengyu Pan², Shanyu Zhang², Qian Chen³, Tao Yuan⁴, Jun Zhang¹, Yu Gao⁵, Ying Tian⁶; Shanghai Birth Cohort Study

Affiliations

¹ Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xin Hua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China; School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
² School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
³ Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xin Hua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁴ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
⁵ School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: gaoyu_ciel@sjtu.edu.cn.
⁶ Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xin Hua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China; School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: tianmiejp@sjtu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36327589
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107597

Abstract

Background: Prenatal fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) exposure has been linked to infant cognitive and motor functions, but the effects of PM_2.5 chemical composition remain unclear.

Objectives: We aimed to explore the associations of prenatal PM_2.5 and its composition exposure with infant cognitive and motor functions.

Methods: We studied 2,435 mother-infant pairs in the Shanghai Birth Cohort Study. PM_2.5 and its seven compositions [primary particles (black carbon, mineral dust and sea salts) and secondary particles (NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, SO₄^2- and organic matter)] during thethreetrimesters ofpregnancy were retrieved from the V4.CH.03 product developed by using a combined geoscience-statistical method. At the 12-month-old follow-up, infant cognitive and motor functions in five domains were assessed using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). We used multivariable linear regressions to estimate the effects of PM_2.5 and its composition on the ASQ scores, for all infants and stratifying by sex and breastfeeding duration.

Results: PM_2.5 exposure was negatively associated with gross motor, problem-solving and personal-social scores for all infants. PM_2.5 compositions were inversely associated with ASQ scores in all five domains, and the effects of different compositions varied across domains. Specifically, all compositions except organic matter were correlated with lower problem-solving scores [e.g., ( [Formula: see text] = - 10.79, 95 % CI: -17.40, -4.18) ∼ ( [Formula: see text] = - 4.68, 95 % CI: -7.84, -1.53); for each 10 μg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 compositions during the third trimester]. Primary and some secondary particles (organic matter, NO₃^-) were related to lower gross motor scores. Secondary particles were also inversely associated with communication (organic matter and NO₃^-), fine motor (NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, SO₄^2-) and personal-social (NH₄⁺) scores. Additionally, boys and infants breastfed for < 6 months appeared to be more susceptible.

Conclusions: We found negative associations of PM_2.5 and its compositions with infant cognitive and motor functions over a range of domains, especially the problem-solving domain.

Keywords: Chemical compositions; Cognitive function; Fine particulate matter; Motor function; Prenatal exposure.

MeSH terms

Child
China
Cognition*
Cohort Studies
Female
Humans
Infant
Mothers*