Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
MOE Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China; NHC Key Laboratory of Study on Abnormal Gametes and Reproductive Tract, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China; Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Population Health and Aristogenics, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Feb 1;858(Pt 2):160029. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160029. Epub 2022 Nov 8.
Barium is widely involved in drilling fluids, plastics, and personal care products. Although the neurodevelopmental toxicity of barium has been reported in animals, human data are scarce. This study aimed to investigate the effect of prenatal barium concentrations on preschoolers' intellectual function based on a birth cohort study.
A total of 2164 mother-child pairs from Ma'anshan city, China were included in this study. We measured serum barium concentrations in the first, second, and third trimesters and in cord blood. Intellectual function in children aged 3.0-6.0 years old was assessed using the Chinese version of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV). Linear regression models were used to analyze the association between averaged barium exposure during pregnancy and intellectual function. Multiple informant models were performed to jointly test for differences in associations between four repeated barium exposure and intellectual function. All models were further stratified by child sex.
Collectively, we observed significant inverse associations of average maternal barium exposure levels with verbal comprehension index (VCI), visual spatial index (VSI), processing speed index (PSI), and full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) scores. Maternal serum log-transformed barium levels in the second trimester were inversely associated with VCI [-2.33 (95%CI: -4.02, -0.64)], VSI [-2.30 (95%CI: -4.08, -0.52)], working memory index (WMI) [-2.09 (95%CI: -3.71, -0.46)], PSI [-2.23 (95%CI: -3.82, -0.65)], and FSIQ scores [-2.73 (95%CI: -4.23, -1.22)]. Prenatal barium exposure was inversely associated with VCI, VSI, WMI, PSI, and FSIQ in girls, except for the fluid reasoning index (FRI). Additionally, inverse associations were found between prenatal barium exposure and VSI, PSI, and FSIQ in boys.
Prenatal barium exposure had detrimental effects on intellectual function in preschoolers and girls drove these inverse associations more than boys. The second trimester may be the critical window of neurotoxicity to barium exposure.
钡广泛应用于钻井液、塑料和个人护理产品中。尽管动物研究已经报道了钡的神经发育毒性，但人类数据却很少。本研究旨在通过一项队列研究，调查产前钡浓度对学龄前儿童智力功能的影响。
本研究共纳入了中国马鞍山市的 2164 对母婴。我们测量了母亲在妊娠第 1、2 和 3 个 trimester 以及脐带血中的血清钡浓度。使用中国版韦氏学前和小学智力量表第四版（WPPSI-IV）评估儿童 3.0-6.0 岁时的智力功能。线性回归模型用于分析妊娠期间平均钡暴露与智力功能之间的关联。多信息模型用于联合检验四次重复钡暴露与智力功能之间的关联差异。所有模型均进一步按儿童性别进行分层。
总体而言，我们观察到母亲钡暴露水平与言语理解指数（VCI）、视觉空间指数（VSI）、处理速度指数（PSI）和全量表智商（FSIQ）得分呈显著负相关。母亲妊娠中期血清中经对数转换的钡水平与 VCI[-2.33（95%CI：-4.02，-0.64）]、VSI[-2.30（95%CI：-4.08，-0.52）]、工作记忆指数（WMI）[-2.09（95%CI：-3.71，-0.46）]、PSI[-2.23（95%CI：-3.82，-0.65）]和 FSIQ 得分[-2.73（95%CI：-4.23，-1.22）]呈负相关。产前钡暴露与女孩的 VCI、VSI、WMI、PSI 和 FSIQ 呈负相关，除流体推理指数（FRI）外。此外，还发现产前钡暴露与男孩的 VSI、PSI 和 FSIQ 呈负相关。
产前钡暴露对学龄前儿童的智力功能有不良影响，女孩比男孩更能驱动这些负相关关系。妊娠中期可能是钡暴露致神经毒性的关键窗口。
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