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Jenkins HM, Meeker JD, Zimmerman E, Cathey A, Fernandez J, Montañez GH, Park S, Pabón ZR, Vélez Vega CM, Cordero JF, Alshawabkeh A, Watkins DJ. Gestational glyphosate exposure and early childhood neurodevelopment in a Puerto Rico birth cohort. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 246:118114. [PMID: 38211716 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, or glyphosate, is a non-selective systemic herbicide widely used in agricultural, industrial, and residential settings since 1974. Glyphosate exposure has been inconsistently linked to neurotoxicity in animals, and studies of effects of gestational exposure among humans are scarce. In this study we investigated relationships between prenatal urinary glyphosate analytes and early childhood neurodevelopment. METHODS Mother-child pairs from the PROTECT-CRECE birth cohort in Puerto Rico with measures for both maternal urinary glyphosate analytes and child neurodevelopment were included for analysis (n = 143). Spot urine samples were collected 1-3 times throughout pregnancy and analyzed for glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), an environmental degradant of glyphosate. Child neurodevelopment was assessed at 6, 12, and 24 months using the Battelle Developmental Inventory, 2nd edition Spanish (BDI-2), which provides scores for adaptive, personal-social, communication, motor, and cognitive domains. We used multivariable linear regression to examine associations between the geometric mean of maternal urinary glyphosate analytes across pregnancy and BDI-2 scores at each follow-up. Results were expressed as percent change in BDI-2 score per interquartile range increase in exposure. RESULTS Prenatal AMPA concentrations were negatively associated with communication domain at 12 months (%change = -5.32; 95%CI: 9.04, -1.61; p = 0.007), and communication subdomain scores at 12 and 24 months. At 24 months, four BDI-2 domains were associated with AMPA: adaptive (%change = -3.15; 95%CI: 6.05, -0.25; p = 0.038), personal-social (%change = -4.37; 95%CI: 7.48, -1.26; p = 0.008), communication (%change = -7.00; 95%CI: 11.75, -2.26; p = 0.005), and cognitive (%change = -4.02; 95%CI: 6.72, -1.32; p = 0.005). Similar trends were observed with GLY concentrations, but most confidence intervals include zero. We found no significant associations at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that gestational exposure to glyphosate is associated with adverse early neurodevelopment, with more pronounced delays at 24 months. Given glyphosate's wide usage, further investigation into the impact of gestational glyphosate exposure on neurodevelopment is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley M Jenkins
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - John D Meeker
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Emily Zimmerman
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Amber Cathey
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Jennifer Fernandez
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Gredia Huerta Montañez
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Seonyoung Park
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Zaira Rosario Pabón
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Carmen M Vélez Vega
- Department of Social Sciences, UPR Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico Graduate School of Public Health, San Juan, PR, 00936, USA.
| | - José F Cordero
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
| | - Akram Alshawabkeh
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Deborah J Watkins
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
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