Arsenic, Lead and Manganese as Risk Factors for Child and Maternal Neurotoxicity

Abstract

Metals such as arsenic, lead and manganese are naturally occurring elements readily found in the earth’s crust. Numerous studies have shown that these metals can be neurotoxic though the exact mechanism remains unknown. In our neurobehavioral study, we found a significant association between prenatal lead concentrations and the scores of Adaptive Skills domain of the BASC-2 (β = -5.99, p-value 0.025). Positive cognitive home environment was consistently associated with better neurobehavioral outcomes. In our investigation, we found that arsenic was significantly associated with increased postpartum depression in mothers in the Tar Creek cohort. β (SE) =1.03 (0.45). The association was statistically significant (p =0.01). We also found a significant interaction between lead and arsenic (β = 1.13, p=0.017). Results of an epigenetic study suggest mothers of children with neural tube defects may have different maternal plasma histone levels than unaffected children. We found a significant association, β (SE)=0.41 (0.014), p=0.006, between H3K27me3 levels and NTD case status. Among mothers with low folate, H3 was negatively associated, β (SE) = -10.5 (4.05), p =0.016 with maternal arsenic exposure.