Disparities in Toxic Chemical Exposures and Associated Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: A Scoping Review and Systematic Evidence Map of the Epidemiological Literature
- PMID: 37754677
- PMCID: PMC10525348
- DOI: 10.1289/EHP11750
Disparities in Toxic Chemical Exposures and Associated Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: A Scoping Review and Systematic Evidence Map of the Epidemiological Literature
Abstract
Background: Children are routinely exposed to chemicals known or suspected of harming brain development. Targeting Environmental Neuro-Development Risks (Project TENDR), an alliance of leading scientists, health professionals, and advocates, is working to protect children from these toxic chemicals and pollutants, especially the disproportionate exposures experienced by children from families with low incomes and families of color.
Objective: This scoping review was initiated to map existing literature on disparities in neurodevelopmental outcomes for U.S. children from population groups who have been historically economically/socially marginalized and exposed to seven exemplar neurotoxicants: combustion-related air pollution (AP), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), organophosphate pesticides (OPs), phthalates (Phth), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Methods: Systematic literature searches for the seven exemplar chemicals, informed by the Population, Exposure, Comparator, Outcome (PECO) framework, were conducted through 18 November 2022, using PubMed, CINAHL Plus (EBSCO), GreenFILE (EBSCO), and Web of Science sources. We examined these studies regarding authors' conceptualization and operationalization of race, ethnicity, and other indicators of sociodemographic and socioeconomic disadvantage; whether studies presented data on exposure and outcome disparities and the patterns of those disparities; and the evidence of effect modification by or interaction with race and ethnicity.
Results: Two hundred twelve individual studies met the search criteria and were reviewed, resulting in 218 studies or investigations being included in this review. AP and Pb were the most commonly studied exposures. The most frequently identified neurodevelopmental outcomes were cognitive and behavioral/psychological. Approximately a third (74 studies) reported investigations of interactions or effect modification with 69% (51 of 74 studies) reporting the presence of interactions or effect modification. However, less than half of the studies presented data on disparities in the outcome or the exposure, and fewer conducted formal tests of heterogeneity. Ninety-two percent of the 165 articles that examined race and ethnicity did not provide an explanation of their constructs for these variables, creating an incomplete picture.
Discussion: As a whole, the studies we reviewed indicated a complex story about how racial and ethnic minority and low-income children may be disproportionately harmed by exposures to neurotoxicants, and this has implications for targeting interventions, policy change, and other necessary investments to eliminate these health disparities. We provide recommendations on improving environmental epidemiological studies on environmental health disparities. To achieve environmental justice and health equity, we recommend concomitant strategies to eradicate both neurotoxic chemical exposures and systems that perpetuate social inequities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11750.
Figures



Comment in
-
Invited Perspective: Still Beating the Drum-Environmental Health Disparities and Neurodevelopment.Environ Health Perspect. 2023 Sep;131(9):91302. doi: 10.1289/EHP13425. Epub 2023 Sep 27. Environ Health Perspect. 2023. PMID: 37754678 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
Similar articles
-
The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health.Ann Glob Health. 2023 Mar 21;89(1):23. doi: 10.5334/aogh.4056. eCollection 2023. Ann Glob Health. 2023. PMID: 36969097 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Disparities in Air Pollution Exposure in the United States by Race/Ethnicity and Income, 1990-2010.Environ Health Perspect. 2021 Dec;129(12):127005. doi: 10.1289/EHP8584. Epub 2021 Dec 15. Environ Health Perspect. 2021. PMID: 34908495 Free PMC article.
-
Environmental Exposure Disparities and Neurodevelopmental Risk: a Review.Curr Environ Health Rep. 2023 Jun;10(2):73-83. doi: 10.1007/s40572-023-00396-6. Epub 2023 Apr 1. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2023. PMID: 37002432 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Disparities in Environmental Exposures to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Diabetes Risk in Vulnerable Populations.Diabetes Care. 2018 Jan;41(1):193-205. doi: 10.2337/dc16-2765. Epub 2017 Nov 15. Diabetes Care. 2018. PMID: 29142003 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Environmental pollutants and child health-A review of recent concerns.Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2016 Jul;219(4-5):331-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2016.05.001. Epub 2016 May 11. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2016. PMID: 27216159 Review.
Cited by
-
Invited Perspective: Still Beating the Drum-Environmental Health Disparities and Neurodevelopment.Environ Health Perspect. 2023 Sep;131(9):91302. doi: 10.1289/EHP13425. Epub 2023 Sep 27. Environ Health Perspect. 2023. PMID: 37754678 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
-
Invited Perspective: Advancing Cumulative Approaches in Regulatory Decision Making.Environ Health Perspect. 2024 Mar;132(3):31303. doi: 10.1289/EHP14610. Epub 2024 Mar 6. Environ Health Perspect. 2024. PMID: 38445890 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
-
Microglial responses to inflammatory challenge in adult rats altered by developmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls in a sex-specific manner.Neurotoxicology. 2024 Sep;104:95-115. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2024.07.009. Epub 2024 Jul 20. Neurotoxicology. 2024. PMID: 39038526
-
The role of the gut microbiome in the associations between lead exposure and child neurodevelopment.Toxicol Lett. 2025 May 15;408:95-104. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2025.04.004. Epub 2025 Apr 16. Toxicol Lett. 2025. PMID: 40250742 Review.
-
Modeling the developing nervous system: a neuroscience perspective on the use of new approach methodologies in developmental neurotoxicity testing.Toxicol Sci. 2025 Jun 1;205(2):245-273. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfaf028. Toxicol Sci. 2025. PMID: 40036565 Review.
References
-
- Bullard RD, Mohai P, Saha R, Wright B. 2008. Toxic wastes and race at twenty: why race still matters after all of these years. Environ Law 38(2):371–411.
-
- Bullard RD. 1994. Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
-
- Pullen Fedinick K, Taylor S, Roberts M. 2021. Watered Down Justice. https://www.nrdc.org/resources/watered-down-justice [accessed 3 February 2023].
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Research Materials
Miscellaneous