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Neonatal neurodevelopment and prenatal exposure to dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE): A cohort study in Mexico

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 21, pages 609–614 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Prenatal exposure to dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) is associated with decreased motor development during the first year of life, though the effects of DDE in the neonatal stage are not conclusive. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the association between prenatal DDE exposure and neonatal neurodevelopment in a cohort from four municipalities in the state of Morelos, Mexico. The children (265), born from pregnancies with no perinatal complications, were evaluated at 1 month of age (±7 days) for the presence of abnormal reflexes with the Brazelton Scale (NBAS), neurological soft signs with the Graham–Rosenblith Scale, as well as mental and psychomotor development by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Maternal DDE concentrations during each trimester of the pregnancy were determined by gas chromatography. Multiple linear and ordinal logistic models assessed the association between DDE and the outcomes of interest. Prenatal exposure to DDE was associated with a non-significant increase in neurological soft signs (6–8%) and a decrease in psychomotor (β1T=−0.02) and mental (β2T=−0.03 and β3T=−0.19) development. Our results are consistent with previous studies and suggest that prenatal DDE exposure is not associated with neurological functions present in the neonatal stage.

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Acknowledgements

This study was carried out with financial support from the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (31034-M; 41708; 13915). Torres-Sanchez L. is an Irving J. Selikoff International Scholar of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. His/her work was supported in part by an Award Number D43TW000640 from the Fogarty International Center. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Fogarty International Center or the National Institutes of Health. We thank to Dr. Stephen J Rothenberg for comments and review of the document.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación en Salud Poblacional, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Morelos, Mexico

    Lilia Araceli Bahena-Medina, Luisa Torres-Sánchez & Lizbeth López-Carrillo

  2. División de Investigación en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología “Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes”, México DF, Mexico

    Lourdes Schnaas, Carmen Hernández Chávez & Erika Osorio-Valencia

  3. Departamento de Toxicología, CINVESTAV, México DF, Mexico

    Mariano E Cebrián & Rosa MaríA García Hernández

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  1. Lilia Araceli Bahena-Medina
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Correspondence to Luisa Torres-Sánchez.

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Bahena-Medina, L., Torres-Sánchez, L., Schnaas, L. et al. Neonatal neurodevelopment and prenatal exposure to dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE): A cohort study in Mexico. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 21, 609–614 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2011.25

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