ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2014
Domain-specific effects of prenatal exposure to PCBs, mercury, and lead on infant cognition: results from the Environmental Contaminants and Child Development Study in Nunavik.
Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 142 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the relationships between nutrition and brain health among Indigenous Peoples in North America: a systematic review.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2026Pooled it
- Prenatal Mercury Exposure and Neurodevelopment up to the Age of 5 Years: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Leveraging research in early cognitive development for application and impact.Frontiers in developmental psychology · 2026Article
- Associations between prenatal exposure to a mixture of lead, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls and executive function in Inuit adolescents.Environmental research · 2025Article
- Article
- Developmental Pb exposure increases rate of forgetting on a delayed matching-to-sample task among Mexican children.Science advances · 2025Article
- Neuromotor effects of early-life exposure to a mixture of endocrine disruptors in Belgian preschool children.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2025Article
- Developmental exposure to legacy environmental contaminants, medial temporal lobe volumes and spatial navigation memory in late adolescents.Environmental research · 2025Article
- Review
- Association between Prenatal Dietary Toxicants and Infant Neurodevelopment: The Role of Fish.Toxics · 2024Article
- Extending the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort through 2030: Rationale and study protocol.PloS one · 2024Observational
- Sources of exposure to lead in Arctic and subarctic regions: a scoping review.International journal of circumpolar health · 2023Article
- Risk communication and perceptions about lead ammunition and Inuit health in Nunavik, Canada.International journal of circumpolar health · 2023Article
- Prenatal Lead Exposure, Genetic Factors, and Cognitive Developmental Delay.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Screening and Identification of Probiotic Lactobacilli from the Infant Gut Microbiota to Alleviate Lead Toxicity.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2023Article
- Trace elements in Foodstuffs from the Mediterranean Basin-Occurrence, Risk Assessment, Regulations, and Prevention strategies: A review.Biological trace element research · 2023Review
- The Role of Nonhuman Primates in Neurotoxicology Research: Preclinical Models and Experimental Methods.Current protocols · 2023Article
- Review
- Shifting paradigm from biomedical to decolonised methods in Inuit public health research in Canada: a scoping review.BMJ global health · 2022Article
- Aerobic Bioaugmentation to Decrease Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Emissions from Contaminated Sediments to Air.Environmental science & technology · 2022Article
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), methylmercury (MeHg), and lead (Pb) are environmental contaminants known for their adverse effects on cognitive development.
objectivesIn this study we examined the effects of prenatal exposure to PCBs, MeHg, and Pb on cognitive development in a sample of Inuit infants from Arctic Québec.
methodsMothers were recruited at local prenatal clinics. PCBs, mercury (Hg), Pb, and two seafood nutrients-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and selenium (Se)-were measured in umbilical cord blood. Infants (n = 94) were assessed at 6.5 and 11 months of age on the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (FTII), A-not-B test, and Bayley Scales of Infant Development-2nd Edition (BSID-II).
resultsMultiple regression analyses revealed that higher prenatal PCB exposure was associated with decreased FTII novelty preference, indicating impaired visual recognition memory. Prenatal Hg was associated with poorer performance on A-not-B, which depends on working memory and is believed to be a precursor of executive function. Prenatal Pb was related to longer FTII fixation durations, indicating slower speed of information processing.
conclusionsPCBs, MeHg, and Pb each showed specific and distinct patterns of adverse associations with the outcomes measured during infancy. By contrast, none of these exposures was associated with performance on the BSID-II, a global developmental measure. The more focused, narrow band measures of cognitive function that appeared to be sensitive to these exposures also provide early indications of long-term impairment in specific domains that would otherwise not likely be evident until school age. CITATION: Boucher O, Muckle G, Jacobson JL, Carter RC, Kaplan-Estrin M, Ayotte P, Dewailly É, Jacobson SW. 2014. Domain-specific effects of prenatal exposure to PCBs, mercury, and lead on infant cognition: results from the Environmental Contaminants and Child Development Study in Nunavik. Environ Health Perspect 122:310-316; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1206323.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.