TY - JOUR PY - 2017// TI - Prenatal phthalate exposures and child temperament at 12 and 24 months JO - Neurotoxicology A1 - Singer, Alison B. A1 - Wolff, Mary S. A1 - Silva, Manori J. A1 - Calafat, Antonia M. A1 - Engel, Stephanie M. SP - 248 EP - 257 VL - 62 IS - N2 - INTRODUCTION: Gestational phthalate exposures have been adversely associated with attention, externalizing, and internalizing behaviors in childhood. Early childhood temperament may be a marker of later behavioral patterns. We therefore sought to determine whether gestational phthalate exposures were associated with infant and toddler temperament.

METHODS: The Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Study is a prospective cohort study of children born between May 1998 and July 2001 in New York City (N=404). Phthalate metabolites were measured in spot urine samples collected from pregnant women in their third trimester. Child temperament was assessed by parental report at 12-months using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) (N=204) and at 24-months using the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (TBAQ) (N=279). We used multiple linear regression to evaluate associations between urinary phthalate metabolites and eleven temperament domains.

RESULTS: Phthalate biomarker concentrations were weakly associated with lower gross motor activity levels as well as higher duration of orienting at the 12-month assessment. Mono(3-carboxypropyl) phthalate (MCPP), monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP) and the sum of metabolites of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (∑DEHP) were associated with lower levels of smiling and laughing at 12 months. At 24-months, social fear and lower pleasure was linked to higher concentrations of MCPP and MBzP, and higher ∑DEHP was weakly associated with increased anger levels at 24-months.

CONCLUSIONS: Though we observed some weak associations between biomarkers of prenatal exposure to phthalates and temperament at 12- and 24-months, overall phthalates biomarkers were not strongly associated with alterations in temperament.

Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0161-813X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2017.08.002 ID - ref1 ER -