Cowell Whitney J, Bellinger David C, Coull Brent A, Gennings Chris, Wright Robert O, Wright Rosalind J
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America.
Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2015 Nov 6;10(11):e0142492. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142492. eCollection 2015.
Whether fetal neurodevelopment is disrupted by traffic-related air pollution is uncertain. Animal studies suggest that chemical and non-chemical stressors interact to impact neurodevelopment, and that this association is further modified by sex.
To examine associations between prenatal traffic-related black carbon exposure, prenatal stress, and sex with children's memory and learning.
Analyses included N = 258 mother-child dyads enrolled in a Boston, Massachusetts pregnancy cohort. Black carbon exposure was estimated using a validated spatiotemporal land-use regression model. Prenatal stress was measured using the Crisis in Family Systems-Revised survey of negative life events. The Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML2) was administered at age 6 years; outcomes included the General Memory Index and its component indices [Verbal, Visual, and Attention Concentration]. Relationships between black carbon and WRAML2 index scores were examined using multivariable-adjusted linear regression including effect modification by stress and sex.
Mothers were primarily minorities (60% Hispanic, 26% Black); 67% had ≤12 years of education. The main effect for black carbon was not significant for any WRAML2 index; however, in stratified analyses, among boys with high exposure to prenatal stress, Attention Concentration Index scores were on average 9.5 points lower for those with high compared to low prenatal black carbon exposure (P3-way interaction = 0.04).
The associations between prenatal exposure to black carbon and stress with children's memory scores were stronger in boys than in girls. Studies assessing complex interactions may more fully characterize health risks and, in particular, identify vulnerable subgroups.
交通相关空气污染是否会干扰胎儿神经发育尚不确定。动物研究表明，化学和非化学应激源相互作用会影响神经发育，而且这种关联会因性别而进一步改变。
研究产前交通相关黑碳暴露、产前应激和性别与儿童记忆和学习之间的关联。
分析纳入了马萨诸塞州波士顿一个妊娠队列中的258对母婴。使用经过验证的时空土地利用回归模型估算黑碳暴露情况。产前应激通过家庭系统危机修订版负面生活事件调查进行测量。在儿童6岁时进行广泛记忆与学习评估（WRAML2）；结果包括总体记忆指数及其组成指数[语言、视觉和注意力集中]。使用多变量调整线性回归研究黑碳与WRAML2指数得分之间的关系，包括应激和性别的效应修正。
母亲主要为少数族裔（60%为西班牙裔，26%为黑人）；67%的母亲受教育年限≤12年。黑碳对任何WRAML2指数的主要影响均不显著；然而，在分层分析中，在产前应激程度高的男孩中，产前黑碳暴露高的儿童的注意力集中指数得分平均比暴露低的儿童低9.5分（P3向交互作用=0.04）。
产前黑碳暴露和应激与儿童记忆得分之间的关联在男孩中比在女孩中更强。评估复杂相互作用的研究可能更全面地描述健康风险，特别是识别易受影响的亚组。
