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Abstract: Mercury levels measured in 302 hair samples of 4 year-old children from Menorca (western Mediterranean Sea) are reported. Their concentrations, arithmetic mean 1.4 μg/g, ranging between 0.040 μg/g and 10 μg/g, were higher than in other children inland populations but lower than in previously studied island cohorts, e.g. Faroe, Madeira and Seychelles. 20% of the samples were above the WHO recommended values. Higher concentrations in females than males were observed. Frequent consumption of fish and other seafood were significantly related to the observed mercury concentrations. Oily fish was the main source of this pollutant but shellfish and squid consumption were also associated with high mercury concentrations. Maternal smoking, occupational status or previous siblings were also found to significantly influence the levels of this pollutant. McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities used to assess children's motor and cognitive abilities did not show association with mercury concentrations at 4 years of age. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim: To determine whether prenatal exposure to hexachlorobenzene (HCB) has potential adverse effects on child's weight and body mass index (BMI) in a general population with no local pollution sources. Methods: Starting from mid 1997, all mothers presenting for antenatal exposure in Menorca were recruited. Subsequently, 482 children were enrolled. HCB was measured in cord blood. Weight and height were measured at birth and at age 6.5 years. Results: Children with HCB levels higher than 1.03 ng/mL in cord blood were 1.14 kg (0.38) heavier and had a higher BMI (β= 0.80 (0.34)) than children with HCB levels lower than 0.46 ng/mL. No statistically significant associations were found in height. Children in the higher exposure group of HCB had an increased risk of 2.5 and 3.0 of being overweight and obese. Children from normalweight mothers also presented an increased risk of having higher BMI with increasing concentrations of HCB in cord serum. Conclusion: Prenatal exposure to HCB is associated with an increase in BMI and weight at age 6.5 years. Further studies with larger samples and longer follow-up are needed to confirm these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prenatal and early-life exposures can affect the course of children's neuropsychological development well into pre-adolescence, given the vulnerability of the developing brain. However, it is unknown which socio-environmental factors at early childhood can influence specific cognitive processes like attention at a later age. In this study, we aim to determine social and environmental exposures in early childhood that may be associated with attention function of 11-year-olds. We measured attention function using the continuous performance test-II (CPT-II) on 393 11-year old children from the Menorca's birth-cohort within the INMA-project (Spain), and pre-selected a list of socio-environmental observations taken when they were up to 4 years of age. We found that earlier socio-environmental characteristics, such as parental social class, educational level and maternal mental health are associated with later inattentive and impulsive symptomatology through a higher rate of omission and commission errors. In addition, omission errors were higher in children with atopy and lower in those whose mothers took dietary supplementation with folic acid and vitamins during pregnancy. Breastfeeding played a protective role against commission errors, while higher DDE and PCBs levels at age 4 were associated with slow speed response. Our findings suggest that a number of life socio-environmental factors during prenatal life and early childhood, such as socio-demographic characteristics, breastfeeding, maternal nutritional supplementation with folic acid and vitamins and exposure to some organochlorine compounds may influence inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptomatology during pre-adolescence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]