Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Oct 11;19(20):13020.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph192013020.

Prenatal Co-Exposure to Manganese, Mercury, and Lead, and Neurodevelopment in Children during the First Year of Life

Paulina Farías  1 , David Hernández-Bonilla  1 , Hortensia Moreno-Macías  2 , Sergio Montes-López  3 , Lourdes Schnaas  4 , José Luis Texcalac-Sangrador  1 , Camilo Ríos  5 , Horacio Riojas-Rodríguez  1
Affiliations

Prenatal Co-Exposure to Manganese, Mercury, and Lead, and Neurodevelopment in Children during the First Year of Life

Paulina Farías et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and manganese (Mn) are neurotoxic, but little is known about the neurodevelopmental effects associated with simultaneous prenatal exposure to these metals. We aimed to study the associations of Pb, Hg, and Mn prenatal levels (jointly and separately) with neurodevelopment in the first year of life. Methods: Pb, Hg, and Mn blood lead levels were measured in 253 pregnant women. Their offspring's neurodevelopment was assessed through the Bayley Scale of Infant Development III® at one, three, six, and twelve months. The metals' mean blood levels (µg/L) were Pb = 11.2, Hg = 2.1, and Mn = 10.2. Mean language, cognitive, and motor development scores of the infants at each age were between low-average and average. Multilevel models' results showed that language development coefficients of the offspring decreased by 1.5 points per 1 µg/dL increase in maternal blood lead levels (p = 0.002); the magnitude of the aforementioned association increased in children with maternal blood Mn < 9.6 µg/L (ß = -1.9, p = 0.003) or Hg > 1.9 µg/L (ß = -1.6, p = 0.013). Cognitive and motor development had negative associations with maternal blood Pb levels; the latter was statistically significant when the interaction term between Pb, Mn, and Hg was included (ß = -0.037, p = 0.03). Prenatal exposure to low Pb levels may impair infants' neurodevelopment in the first year of life, even more so if they are exposed to Hg or deficient in Mn.

Keywords: children; co-exposure; lead; manganese; mercury; neurodevelopment; prenatal.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study site.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bayley Scale III. Scores subscales by age.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tau G.Z., Peterson B.S. Normal Development of Brain Circuits. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2010;35:147–168. doi: 10.1038/npp.2009.115. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Needham L.L., Grandjean P., Heinzow B., Jørgensen P.J., Nielsen F., Patterson D.G., Sjödin A., Turner W.E., Weihe P. Partition of Environmental Chemicals between Maternal and Fetal Blood and Tissues. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011;45:1121–1126. doi: 10.1021/es1019614. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zheng W., Aschner M., Ghersi-Egea J.-F. Brain Barrier Systems: A New Frontier in Metal Neurotoxicological Research. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 2003;192:1–11. doi: 10.1016/S0041-008X(03)00251-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Grandjean P., Landrigan P.J. Neurobehavioural Effects of Developmental Toxicity. Lancet Neurol. 2014;13:330–338. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(13)70278-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goyer R.A. Transplacental Transport of Lead. Environ. Health Perspect. 1990;89:101–105. doi: 10.1289/ehp.9089101. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types