1. Exposure to hexachlorobenzene during pregnancy and children's social behavior at 4 years of age
- Author
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Joan O. Grimalt, Jordi Julvez, Jordi Sunyer, Daniel Carrizo, Núria Ribas-Fitó, and Maties Torrent
- Subjects
embarazo ,intercambio materno-fetal ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,humanos ,prenatal exposure ,Social competence ,trastornos de déficit de atención con hiperactividad ,contaminantes atmosféricos ,estudios de seguimiento ,Toxicology ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,CORD SERUM ,Pregnancy ,Prenatal exposure ,Hexachlorobenzene ,HCB ,Children ,Maternal-Fetal Exchange ,cord serum ,Psychomotor learning ,Air Pollutants ,social competence ,adulto ,Fetal Blood ,Maternal Exposure ,Child, Preschool ,Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ,Children's Health ,Epidemiological Monitoring ,Female ,Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) ,efectos diferidos por exposición prenatal ,Environmental Monitoring ,Adult ,sangre fetal ,monitorización epidemiológica ,conducta social ,children ,medicine ,Humans ,Behaviour ,Social Behavior ,business.industry ,behavior ,Research ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Cord serum ,medicine.disease ,Confidence interval ,Hyperactivity ,hyperactivity ,chemistry ,Spain ,Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ,Relative risk ,hexaclorobenceno ,business ,Demography ,Follow-Up Studies ,monitorización del ambiente - Abstract
4 pages, 4 tables.-- PMID: 17431497 [PubMed].-- PMCID: PMC1849941., [Background] Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is an organochlorine chemical that has been used in agriculture and industrial processes. Behavioral impairment after HCB exposure has been described in animal models, but little information is available in humans., [Objectives] Our goal was to study the association of prenatal exposure to HCB with the social behavior of preschool children., [Methods] Two birth cohorts in Ribera d’Ebre and Menorca (Spain) were set up between 1997 and 1999 (n = 475). The California Preschool Social Competence Scale and the Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were scored by each 4-year-old child’s teacher. Organochlorine compounds were measured in cord serum. Children’s diet and parental sociodemographic information were obtained through questionnaire., [Results] Children with concentrations of HCB > 1.5 ng/mL at birth had a statistically significant increased risk of having poor Social Competence [relative risk (RR) = 4.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.76–9.58] and ADHD (RR = 2.71; 95% CI, 1.05–6.96) scores. No association was found between HCB and the cognitive and psychomotor performance of these children., [Conclusions] Prenatal exposure to current concentrations of HCB in Spain is associated with a decrease in the behavioral competence at preschool ages. These results should be considered when evaluating the potential neurotoxicologic effects of HCB., This study was funded by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS-97/1102, FIS-PI041436), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red RCESP C03/09 and Red INMA G03/176), Fundació “la Caixa” (97/009-00 and 00/077-00), and the Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT (1999SGR 00241).
- Published
- 2007