Published online July 3, 2006
PEDIATRICS Vol. 118 No. 1 July 2006, pp. 233-241 (doi:10.1542/10.1542/peds.2005-3117)
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow View responses
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (23)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Eskenazi, B.
Right arrow Articles by Jewell, N. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Eskenazi, B.
Right arrow Articles by Jewell, N. P.
Related Collections
Right arrow Therapeutics & Toxicology
Right arrowRelated AAP Red Book topics:
Malaria
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

In Utero Exposure to Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and Neurodevelopment Among Young Mexican American Children

Brenda Eskenazi, PhDa, Amy R. Marks, MPHa, Asa Bradman, PhDa, Laura Fenster, PhDb, Caroline Johnson, PhDa, Dana B. Barr, PhDc and Nicholas P. Jewell, PhDa

a Center for Children's Environmental Health Research, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
b California Department of Health Services, Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control, Richmond, California
c National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

OBJECTIVE. We investigated the relationship between prenatal exposure to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and neurodevelopment of Mexican farm-workers' children in California.

METHODS. Participants from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas study, a birth cohort study, included 360 singletons with maternal serum measures of p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDT, and p,p'-DDE. Psychomotor development and mental development were assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 6, 12, and 24 months.

RESULTS. We found a ~2-point decrease in Psychomotor Developmental Index scores with each 10-fold increase in p,p'-DDT levels at 6 and 12 months (but not 24 months) and p,p'-DDE levels at 6 months only. We found no association with mental development at 6 months but a 2- to 3-point decrease in Mental Developmental Index scores for p,p'-DDT and o,p'-DDT at 12 and 24 months, corresponding to 7- to 10-point decreases across the exposure range. Even when mothers had substantial exposure, breastfeeding was usually associated positively with Bayley scale scores.

CONCLUSIONS. Prenatal exposure to DDT, and to a lesser extent DDE, was associated with neurodevelopmental delays during early childhood, although breastfeeding was found to be beneficial even among women with high levels of exposure. Countries considering the use of DDT should weigh its benefit in eradicating malaria against the negative associations found in this first report on DDT and human neurodevelopment.


Key Words: dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane • dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene • organochlorine • pesticides • neurodevelopment • Bayley Scales of Infant Development

Abbreviations: CHAMACOS—Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas • DAP—dialkyl phosphates • HCB—hexachlorobenzene • HOME—Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment • LOD—limit of detection • MDI—Mental Developmental Index • DDT—dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane • PDI—Psychomotor Developmental Index • DDE—dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene • PCB—polychlorinated biphenyl • ß-HCCH—ß-hexachlorocyclohexane • PPVT—Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test • CI—confidence interval


Accepted Feb 15, 2006.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
J. Epidemiol. Community HealthHome page
R F White, R Campbell, D Echeverria, S S Knox, and P Janulewicz
Assessment of neuropsychological trajectories in longitudinal population-based studies of children
J Epidemiol Community Health, January 1, 2009; 63(Suppl_1): i15 - i26.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am J EpidemiolHome page
J. Chevrier, B. Eskenazi, N. Holland, A. Bradman, and D. B. Barr
Effects of Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Organochlorine Pesticides on Thyroid Function during Pregnancy
Am. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2008; 168(3): 298 - 310.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am J Trop Med HygHome page
S. Sadasivaiah, Y. Tozan, and J. G Breman
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) for Indoor Residual Spraying in Africa: How Can It Be Used for Malaria Control?
Am J Trop Med Hyg, December 1, 2007; 77(6_Suppl): 249 - 263.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J AndrolHome page
N. H. Aneck-Hahn, G. W. Schulenburg, M. S. Bornman, P. Farias, and C. De Jager
Impaired Semen Quality Associated With Environmental DDT Exposure in Young Men Living in a Malaria Area in the Limpopo Province, South Africa
J Androl, May 1, 2007; 28(3): 423 - 434.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

eLetters:

Read all eLetters

DDT and neurodevelopment: results inconclusive to effect policy change
Ameena E Goga
Pediatrics Online, 7 Aug 2006 [Full text]
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. Implications of Eskenazi et al study to malaria control in Africa
BARNABAS N KAHIIRA
Pediatrics Online, 15 Aug 2006 [Full text]
Re: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. Implications of Eskenazi et al study to malaria control in Afri
Brenda Eskenazi, et al.
Pediatrics Online, 24 Aug 2006 [Full text]
Re: DDT and neurodevelopment: results inconclusive to effect policy change
Brenda Eskenazi, et al.
Pediatrics Online, 22 Sep 2006 [Full text]