Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health, University of Ulster, Coleraine, UK.
J Nutr. 2012 Nov;142(11):1943-9. doi: 10.3945/jn.112.163493. Epub 2012 Sep 26.
Evidence from the Seychelles Child Development Nutrition Study suggests that maternal nutritional status can modulate the relationship between prenatal methylmercury (MeHg) exposure and developmental outcomes in children. The aim of this study was to investigate whether maternal PUFA status was a confounding factor in any possible associations between prenatal MeHg exposure and developmental outcomes at 5 y of age in the Republic of Seychelles. Maternal status of (n-3) and (n-6) PUFA were measured in serum collected at 28 wk gestation and delivery. Prenatal MeHg exposure was determined in maternal hair collected at delivery. At 5 y of age, the children completed a comprehensive range of sensitive developmental assessments. Complete data from 225 mothers and their children were available for analysis. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed Preschool Language Scale scores of the children improved with increasing maternal serum DHA [22:6(n-3)] concentrations and decreased with increasing arachidonic acid [20:4(n-6)] concentrations, albeit verbal intelligence improved with increasing (n-6) PUFA concentrations in maternal serum. There were no adverse associations between MeHg exposure and developmental outcomes. These findings suggest that higher fish consumption, resulting in higher maternal (n-3) PUFA status, during pregnancy is associated with beneficial developmental effects rather than detrimental effects resulting from the higher concomitant exposures of the fetus to MeHg. The association of maternal (n-3) PUFA status with improved child language development may partially explain the authors' previous finding of improving language scores, as prenatal MeHg exposure increased in an earlier mother-child cohort in the Seychelles where maternal PUFA status was not measured.
塞舌尔儿童发展营养研究的证据表明，母体营养状况可以调节胎儿甲基汞（MeHg）暴露与儿童发育结果之间的关系。本研究旨在探讨母体多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA）状况是否是塞舌尔共和国母亲产前 MeHg 暴露与 5 岁儿童发育结果之间任何可能关联的混杂因素。在妊娠 28 周和分娩时采集血清，测量母体中（n-3）和（n-6）PUFA 的状况。在分娩时采集的母亲头发中测定产前 MeHg 暴露。在 5 岁时，儿童完成了一系列全面的敏感发育评估。共有 225 名母亲及其子女的完整数据可用于分析。多元线性回归分析显示，儿童的学前语言量表评分随着母体血清二十二碳六烯酸 [22:6(n-3)] 浓度的增加而提高，随着花生四烯酸 [20:4(n-6)] 浓度的增加而降低，尽管在母体血清中（n-6）PUFA 浓度增加，言语智力提高。MeHg 暴露与发育结果之间没有不良关联。这些发现表明，怀孕期间更高的鱼类摄入量导致母体（n-3）PUFA 状况更高，与有益的发育效应相关，而不是胎儿对 MeHg 的更高伴随暴露所产生的有害影响。母体（n-3）PUFA 状况与儿童语言发育改善的关联可能部分解释了作者之前的发现，即塞舌尔的母亲-儿童队列中，随着母体 PUFA 状况未被测量，产前 MeHg 暴露增加，语言评分也随之提高。
