Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35995271›Full record

ArticleNeurotoxicology2022

The association of prenatal manganese exposure with problem-solving skills and its mediation by the building blocks of executive function.

Anna V Oppenheimer, David C Bellinger, Brent A Coull, Marc G Weisskopf, Susan A Korrick

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neurotoxicology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Anna V OppenheimerDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: annao@hsph.harvard.edu.
David C BellingerDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Brent A CoullDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Marc G WeisskopfDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Susan A KorrickDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Harvard University · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · US

Funding

Translational Research Support CoreP30ES000002 · NIEHS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI JAIME ELIZABETH HART · 1985 to 2026
$44.6M
The HSPH Education and Research Center of Occupational Safety and HealthT42OH008416 · OH · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI CHRISTIANI, DAVID C · 2005 to 2025
$30.5M
VANADIUM AND HUMAN HEALTHP42ES005947 · NIEHS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI KELSEY, KARL TIMOTHY · 1992 to 2006
$19.6M
Training Program in Environmental EpidemiologyT32ES007069 · NIEHS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI LADEN, FRANCINE · 1985 to 2024
$13.9M
Metal and Organochlorines Exposure: Impact on Adolescent Behavior and CognitionR01ES014864 · NIEHS · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI KORRICK, SUSAN A · 2006 to 2010
$3.3M
ACL HHS T42OH008416NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES000002NIEHS NIH HHS P42 ES005947NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES014864NIEHS NIH HHS T32 ES007069NIOSH CDC HHS T42 OH008416
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundProblem-solving skills build upon three core executive functions: inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. There is evidence of adverse associations of prenatal exposure to manganese (Mn) with core executive functions, but less is known about Mn associations with problem-solving or potential mediators of this association.

objectivesThis study aimed to investigate the association of prenatal Mn exposure with problem-solving and to identify potential neuropsychological mechanisms through which this association may be mediated.

methodsStudy participants were 410 adolescents from the New Bedford Cohort (NBC) who have undergone periodic evaluations since their birth (1993-1998) to mothers residing near a Massachusetts Superfund site. We investigated the association of cord blood Mn with problem-solving measured by the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Sorting and Tower subtests (scores scaled to a mean ± SD of 10 ± 3) using multivariable linear regression. Inhibition and cognitive flexibility were also measured by the D-KEFS; working memory was measured with the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning, 2nd edition. Regression-based causal mediation analysis was used to assess the proportion of the Mn-problem-solving association mediated by inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility individually and jointly.

resultsNBC adolescents (mean age 15.5 years) were socio-demographically diverse with 31 % in a low-income household at birth and had cord blood Mn concentrations similar to other general population samples. Mn was associated with Sorting but not Tower scores. Specifically, a doubling of cord blood Mn concentrations was associated with - 0.59 points lower (95 % CI: -1.16, -0.03) Sort Recognition score. In mediation analyses, there was suggestive evidence that inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility combined mediated 30 % of the total effect of Mn on Sorting. When analyzed individually, working memory mediated a larger proportion (24 %) of the effect than inhibition or cognitive flexibility. DISCUSSION: We observed adverse associations of cord blood Mn with problem-solving among adolescents. There was suggestive evidence that the building blocks of executive function jointly, and working memory individually, were potentially important mediators of this association.

Indexed as

Executive FunctionManganeseAdolescentFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornInhibition, PsychologicalMemory, Short-TermPregnancyProblem SolvingManganeseAdolescent neurodevelopmentCognitive flexibilityExecutive functionInhibitionManganeseMediationPrenatal exposureProblem-solvingWorking memory

Identifiers

PMID35995271
PMCPMC10712564
OpenAlexW4293424026

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

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.