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Strain JJ, Love TM, Yeates AJ, Weller D, Mulhern MS, McSorley EM, Thurston SW, Watson GE, Mruzek D, Broberg K, Rand MD, Henderson J, Shamlaye CF, Myers GJ, Davidson PW, van Wijngaarden E. Associations of prenatal methylmercury exposure and maternal polyunsaturated fatty acid status with neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years of age: results from the Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 2. Am J Clin Nutr 2021; 113:304-313. [PMID: 33330939 PMCID: PMC7851824 DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqaa338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fish is a primary source of protein and n-3 PUFA but also contains methylmercury (MeHg), a naturally occurring neurotoxicant to which, at sufficient exposure levels, the developing fetal brain is particularly sensitive. OBJECTIVES To examine the association between prenatal MeHg and maternal status of n-3 and n-6 PUFA with neurodevelopment, and to determine whether PUFA might modify prenatal MeHg associations with neurodevelopment. METHODS We examined the Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 2 (NC2) at age 7 y. We used a sophisticated and extensive neurodevelopmental test battery that addressed 17 specific outcomes in multiple neurodevelopmental domains: cognition, executive and psychomotor function, language development, behavior, scholastic achievement, and social communication. Analyses were undertaken on 1237 mother-child pairs with complete covariate data (after exclusions) and a measure of at least 1 outcome. We examined the main and interactive associations of prenatal MeHg exposure (measured as maternal hair mercury) and prenatal PUFA status (measured in maternal serum at 28 weeks' gestation) on child neurodevelopmental outcomes using linear regression models. We applied the Bonferroni correction to account for multiple comparisons and considered P values <0.0029 to be statistically significant. RESULTS Prenatal MeHg exposure and maternal DHA and arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) (AA) status were not significantly associated with any neurodevelopmental outcomes. Findings for 4 outcomes encompassing executive function, cognition, and linguistic skills suggested better performance with an increasing maternal n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio (P values ranging from 0.004 to 0.05), but none of these associations were significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. No significant interaction between MeHg exposure and PUFA status was present. CONCLUSIONS Our findings do not support an association between prenatal MeHg exposure or maternal DHA and AA status with neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 7 y. The roles of n-6 and n-3 PUFA in child neurodevelopment need further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- JJ Strain
- Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food & Health, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Tanzy M Love
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Alison J Yeates
- Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food & Health, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Weller
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Maria S Mulhern
- Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food & Health, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Emeir M McSorley
- Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food & Health, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Sally W Thurston
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Gene E Watson
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Daniel Mruzek
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Karin Broberg
- Unit of Metals and Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Metals and Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Laboratory of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Matthew D Rand
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Gary J Myers
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Philip W Davidson
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
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Strain JJ, Yeates AJ, van Wijngaarden E, Thurston SW, Mulhern MS, McSorley EM, Watson GE, Love TM, Smith TH, Yost K, Harrington D, Shamlaye CF, Henderson J, Myers GJ, Davidson PW. Prenatal exposure to methyl mercury from fish consumption and polyunsaturated fatty acids: associations with child development at 20 mo of age in an observational study in the Republic of Seychelles. Am J Clin Nutr 2015; 101:530-7. [PMID: 25733638 PMCID: PMC4340059 DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.114.100503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fish is a rich source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) but also contains the neurotoxicant methyl mercury (MeHg). PUFAs may modify the relation between prenatal MeHg exposure and child development either directly by enhancing neurodevelopment or indirectly through the inflammatory milieu. OBJECTIVE The objective was to investigate the associations of prenatal MeHg exposure and maternal PUFA status with child development at 20 mo of age. DESIGN The Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 2 is an observational study in the Republic of Seychelles, a high-fish-eating population. Mothers were enrolled during pregnancy and their children evaluated at 20 mo of age by using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID-II), the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI), and the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised. There were 1265 mother-child pairs with complete data. RESULTS Prenatal MeHg exposure had no direct associations with neurodevelopmental outcomes. Significant interactions were found between MeHg and PUFAs on the Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) of the BSID-II. Increasing MeHg was associated with lower PDI but only in children of mothers with higher n-6/n-3. Among mothers with higher n-3 PUFAs, increasing MeHg was associated with improved PDI. Higher maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was associated with improved CDI total gestures (language development) but was significantly adversely associated with the Mental Development Index (MDI), both with and without MeHg adjustment. Higher n-6:n-3 ratios were associated with poorer scores on all 3 CDI outcomes. CONCLUSIONS We found no overall adverse association between prenatal MeHg exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes. However, maternal PUFA status as a putative marker of the inflammatory milieu appeared to modify the associations of prenatal MeHg exposure with the PDI. Increasing DHA status was positively associated with language development yet negatively associated with the MDI. These findings may indicate the existence of an optimal DHA balance with respect to arachidonic acid for different aspects of neurodevelopment.
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Affiliation(s)
- J J Strain
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Alison J Yeates
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Edwin van Wijngaarden
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Sally W Thurston
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Maria S Mulhern
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Emeir M McSorley
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Gene E Watson
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Tanzy M Love
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Tristram H Smith
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Kelley Yost
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Donald Harrington
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Conrad F Shamlaye
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Juliette Henderson
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Gary J Myers
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
| | - Philip W Davidson
- From the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster (JJS, AJY, MSM, and EMM); the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (EvW, SWT, GEW, TML, THS, KY, DH, GJM, and PWD); and the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles (CFS and JH)
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