Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2022 Nov;63(11):1359-1367. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13581. Epub 2022 Feb 17.
Humans are ubiquitously exposed to air pollutants including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Although most studies of prenatal exposures have focused on psychopathology in childhood or adolescence, the effects of air pollutants on early emerging individual differences in reactivity and regulation are of growing concern. Our study is the first to report effects of prenatal exposure to PAH and maternal stress on infant reactivity and regulation.
Participants included 153 infants (74 girls and 79 boys). Prenatal exposure to PAH was measured via personal air monitoring during the third trimester of pregnancy. Maternal perceived stress was measured via self-report. We assessed infant orienting/regulation (OR), surgency (SE), and negative affectivity (NA) at 4 months using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire. We measured infant socioemotional outcomes at 12 months using the Brief Infant-Toddler Social & Emotional Assessment Questionnaire.
Infants with higher prenatal PAH exposure and of mothers with higher stress had lower OR at 4 months, which predicted lower competence at 12 months. Infants with higher prenatal PAH exposure had lower SE at 4 months, which predicted more behavioral problems at 12 months. Prenatal exposure to PAH had no effects on infant NA at 4 months, although NA was associated with greater behavioral problems at 12 months.
Infant reactivity and regulation, as early makers of child psychopathology, can facilitate timely and targeted screening and possibly prevention of disorders caused, in part, by environmental pollution. A multifaceted approach to improve environmental quality and reduce psychosocial stress is necessary to improve the developmental outcomes of children and most specially children from disadvantaged communities that disproportionately experience these environmental exposures.
人类普遍暴露于空气污染物中，包括多环芳烃（PAH）。尽管大多数产前暴露研究都集中在儿童或青少年时期的精神病理学上，但空气污染物对早期出现的反应性和调节个体差异的影响越来越受到关注。我们的研究首次报告了产前暴露于 PAH 和母体应激对婴儿反应性和调节的影响。
参与者包括 153 名婴儿（74 名女孩和 79 名男孩）。通过在妊娠晚期进行个人空气监测来测量 PAH 的产前暴露。通过自我报告来测量母体感知到的压力。我们在 4 个月时使用婴儿行为问卷评估婴儿的定向/调节（OR）、易激惹性（SE）和负性情绪（NA）。我们在 12 个月时使用婴儿-幼儿社交和情感评估问卷测量婴儿的社交情感结果。
PAH 产前暴露较高的婴儿和压力较大的母亲的 OR 较低，4 个月时的 OR 预测 12 个月时的能力较低。PAH 产前暴露较高的婴儿在 4 个月时的 SE 较低，这预示着 12 个月时的行为问题较多。PAH 产前暴露对 4 个月时婴儿的 NA 没有影响，尽管 NA 与 12 个月时的更多行为问题有关。
婴儿的反应性和调节作为儿童精神病理学的早期标志物，可以促进及时和有针对性的筛查，并可能预防部分由环境污染引起的障碍。需要采取多方面的方法来改善环境质量和减少心理社会压力，以改善儿童的发展结果，特别是那些不成比例地经历这些环境暴露的弱势社区的儿童。
