TY - JOUR
T1 - Maternal seafood diet, methylmercury exposure, and neonatal neurologic function
AU - Steuerwald, Ulrike
AU - Weihe, Pal
AU - Jørgensen, Poul J.
AU - Bjerve, Kristian
AU - Brock, John
AU - Heinzow, Birger
AU - Budtz-Jørgensen, Esben
AU - Grandjean, Philippe
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - Objective: To determine whether neonatal neurologic function is adversely affected by seafood contaminants from maternal diet during pregnancy. Study design: One hundred eighty-two singleton term births were evaluated in the Faeroe Islands, where marine food includes pilot whale. Maternal serum, hair, and milk and umbilical cord blood were analyzed for contaminants. Levels of essential fatty acids, selenium, and thyroid hormones were determined in cord blood. Each infant's neurologic optimality score was determined at 2 weeks of age adjusted for gestational age, and predictors were assessed by regression analysis. Results: Exposures to methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls were increased in relation to maternal seafood intake, as were ω3 fatty acid concentrations in cord serum. Thyroid function was normal. After adjustment for confounders, a 10-fold increase of the cord- blood mercury concentration was associated with a decreased neurologic optimality score of 2.0 (P = .03). This effect corresponds to a decrease in gestational age of about 3 weeks. Other indicators of the seafood diet had no effect on this outcome. Conclusions: Prenatal exposure to methylmercury from contaminated seafood was associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental deficit. Thus in this North Atlantic population, methylmercury constituted an important neurologic risk factor, although effects of other seafood components were not detectable.
AB - Objective: To determine whether neonatal neurologic function is adversely affected by seafood contaminants from maternal diet during pregnancy. Study design: One hundred eighty-two singleton term births were evaluated in the Faeroe Islands, where marine food includes pilot whale. Maternal serum, hair, and milk and umbilical cord blood were analyzed for contaminants. Levels of essential fatty acids, selenium, and thyroid hormones were determined in cord blood. Each infant's neurologic optimality score was determined at 2 weeks of age adjusted for gestational age, and predictors were assessed by regression analysis. Results: Exposures to methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls were increased in relation to maternal seafood intake, as were ω3 fatty acid concentrations in cord serum. Thyroid function was normal. After adjustment for confounders, a 10-fold increase of the cord- blood mercury concentration was associated with a decreased neurologic optimality score of 2.0 (P = .03). This effect corresponds to a decrease in gestational age of about 3 weeks. Other indicators of the seafood diet had no effect on this outcome. Conclusions: Prenatal exposure to methylmercury from contaminated seafood was associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental deficit. Thus in this North Atlantic population, methylmercury constituted an important neurologic risk factor, although effects of other seafood components were not detectable.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034127350&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1067/mpd.2000.102774
DO - 10.1067/mpd.2000.102774
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:0034127350
VL - 136
SP - 599
EP - 605
JO - Journal of Pediatrics
JF - Journal of Pediatrics
SN - 0022-3476
IS - 5
ER -