Lipscomb Shannon T, McClelland Megan M, MacDonald Megan, Cardenas Andres, Anderson Kim A, Kile Molly L
Oregon State University Cascades, Bend, OR, USA.
College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, 15 Milam Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.
Environ Health. 2017 Mar 9;16(1):23. doi: 10.1186/s12940-017-0224-6.
Children are exposed to flame retardants from the built environment. Brominated diphenyl ethers (BDE) and organophosphate-based flame retardants (OPFRs) are associated with poorer neurocognitive functioning in children. Less is known, however, about the association between these classes of compounds and children's emotional and social behaviors. The objective of this study was to determine if flame retardant exposure was associated with measurable differences in social behaviors among children ages 3-5 years.
We examined teacher-rated social behaviors measured using the Social Skills Improvement Rating Scale (SSIS) and personal exposure to flame retardants in children aged 3-5 years who attended preschool (n = 72). Silicone passive samplers worn for 7 days were used to assess personal exposure to 41 compounds using gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometer. These concentrations were then summed into total BDE and total OPFR exposure prior to natural log transformation. Separate generalized additive models were used to evaluate the relationship between seven subscales of the SSIS and lnΣBDE or lnΣOPFR adjusting for other age, sex, adverse social experiences, and family context.
All children were exposed to a mixture of flame retardant compounds. We observed a dose dependent relationship between lnΣOPFR and two subscales where children with higher exposures were rated by their preschool teachers as having less responsible behavior (p = 0.07) and more externalizing behavior problems (p = 0.03). Additionally, children with higher lnΣBDE exposure were rated by teachers as less assertive (p = 0.007).
We observed a cross-sectional association between children's exposure to flame retardant compounds and teacher-rated social behaviors among preschool-aged children. Children with higher flame retardant exposures exhibited poorer social skills in three domains that play an important role in a child's ability to succeed academically and socially.
儿童会接触到建筑环境中的阻燃剂。溴化二苯醚（BDE）和有机磷酸酯类阻燃剂（OPFRs）与儿童较差的神经认知功能有关。然而，关于这类化合物与儿童情绪和社会行为之间的关联，我们所知甚少。本研究的目的是确定阻燃剂暴露是否与3至5岁儿童的社会行为可测量差异相关。
我们检查了使用社会技能改进评定量表（SSIS）测量的教师评定的社会行为，以及3至5岁上幼儿园儿童（n = 72）个人对阻燃剂的暴露情况。佩戴7天的硅胶被动采样器用于通过气相色谱 - 质谱仪评估个人对41种化合物的暴露。在进行自然对数转换之前，将这些浓度汇总为总BDE和总OPFR暴露量。使用单独的广义相加模型来评估SSIS的七个子量表与lnΣBDE或lnΣOPFR之间的关系，并对其他年龄、性别、不良社会经历和家庭背景进行调整。
所有儿童都接触了多种阻燃剂化合物。我们观察到lnΣOPFR与两个子量表之间存在剂量依赖关系，暴露量较高的儿童被其幼儿园教师评定为有较少的责任行为（p = 0.07）和较多的外化行为问题（p = 0.03）。此外，lnΣBDE暴露量较高的儿童被教师评定为缺乏自信（p = 0.007）。
我们观察到学龄前儿童接触阻燃剂化合物与教师评定的社会行为之间存在横断面关联。阻燃剂暴露量较高的儿童在三个对儿童学业和社交成功能力起重要作用的领域表现出较差的社交技能。
