Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Mar 20;917:170576. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170576. Epub 2024 Feb 1.
Children are frequently exposed to various biological trace metals, some essential for their development, while others can be potent neurotoxicants. Furthermore, the inflammatory and metabolic conditions associated with obesity may interact with and amplify the impact of metal exposure on neurodevelopment. However, few studies have assessed the potential modification effect of body mass index (BMI). As a result, we investigated the role of child BMI phenotype on the relationship between prenatal exposure to metal mixtures and temporal processing. Leveraging the PROGRESS birth cohort in Mexico City, children (N = 563) aged 6-9 years completed a Temporal Response Differentiation (TRD) task where they had to hold a lever down for 10-14 s. Blood and urinary metal (As, Pb, Cd, and Mn) measurements were collected from mothers in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Child BMI z-scores were dichotomized to normal (between -2 and +0.99) and high (≥1.00). Covariate-adjusted weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression models were used to estimate and examine the combined effect of metal biomarkers (i.e., blood and urine) on TRD measures. Effect modification by the child's BMI was evaluated using 2-way interaction terms. Children with a high BMI and greater exposure to the metal mixture during prenatal development exhibited significant temporal processing deficits compared to children with a normal BMI. Notably, children with increased exposure to the metal mixture and higher BMI had a decrease in the percent of tasks completed (β = -10.13; 95 % CI: -19.84, -0.42), number of average holds (β = -2.15; 95 % CI: -3.88, -0.41), longer latency (β = 0.78; 95 % CI: 0.13, 1.44), and greater variability in the standard deviation of the total hold time (β = 2.08; 95 % CI: 0.34, 3.82) compared to normal BMI children. These findings implicate that high BMI may amplify the effect of metals on children's temporal processing. Understanding the relationship between metal exposures, temporal processing, and childhood obesity can provide valuable insights for developing targeted environmental interventions.
儿童经常接触各种生物痕量金属，其中一些对其发育至关重要，而另一些则可能是潜在的神经毒性物质。此外，与肥胖相关的炎症和代谢状况可能会与金属暴露相互作用并放大其对神经发育的影响。然而，很少有研究评估体重指数（BMI）的潜在修饰作用。因此，我们研究了儿童 BMI 表型在产前暴露于金属混合物与时间处理之间关系中的作用。利用墨西哥城 PROGRESS 出生队列，563 名 6-9 岁的儿童完成了时间响应差异（TRD）任务，他们需要按住杠杆 10-14 秒。在妊娠第 2 和第 3 个三个月期间，从母亲身上采集血液和尿液金属（As、Pb、Cd 和 Mn）测量值。儿童 BMI z 分数分为正常（-2 到+0.99 之间）和高（≥1.00）。使用协变量调整的加权分位数总和（WQS）回归模型来估计和检查金属生物标志物（即血液和尿液）对 TRD 测量值的综合影响。使用 2 路交互项评估儿童 BMI 的修饰作用。与 BMI 正常的儿童相比，在产前发育期间具有较高 BMI 和更大金属混合物暴露的儿童表现出明显的时间处理缺陷。值得注意的是，与 BMI 正常的儿童相比，暴露于金属混合物且 BMI 较高的儿童完成任务的百分比下降（β=-10.13；95%CI：-19.84，-0.42），平均持续时间的平均值（β=-2.15；95%CI：-3.88，-0.41），潜伏期延长（β=0.78；95%CI：0.13，1.44），以及总持续时间标准差的方差增大（β=2.08；95%CI：0.34，3.82）。这些发现表明，高 BMI 可能会放大金属对儿童时间处理的影响。了解金属暴露、时间处理和儿童肥胖之间的关系，可以为制定有针对性的环境干预措施提供有价值的见解。
