Phthalate and Bisphenol Exposure during Pregnancy and Offspring Nonverbal IQ

• Published in: Environmental health perspectives Vol. 128; no. 7; p. 77009
• Main Authors: van den Dries, Michiel A, Guxens, Mònica, Spaan, Suzanne, Ferguson, Kelly K, Philips, Elise, Santos, Susana, Jaddoe, Vincent W V, Ghassabian, Akhgar, Trasande, Leonardo, Tiemeier, Henning, Pronk, Anjoeka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 01.07.2020; Environmental Health Perspectives
• Subjects: Age; Analysis; Animal cognition; Benzhydryl Compounds - blood; Benzhydryl Compounds - toxicity; Biomarkers; Bisphenol A; Bisphenols; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Childrens health; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Collection; Epidemiology; Esters; Exposure; Female; Gestation; Humans; Intelligence; Intelligence - drug effects; Intelligence Tests; Male; Maternal Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Metabolites; Molecular weight; Morphology; Mothers; Netherlands; Offspring; Phenols - blood; Phenols - toxicity; Phthalate plasticizers; Phthalates; Phthalic Acids - blood; Phthalic Acids - toxicity; Population studies; Pregnancy; Pregnant women; Prenatal experience; Prenatal exposure; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - epidemiology; Quotients; Regression analysis; Regression models; Studies; Urine; Womens health; Netherlands; New York; United States > US
• ISSN: 0091-6765; 1552-9924
• DOI: 10.1289/EHP6047

Prenatal exposures to phthalates and bisphenols are associated with impaired brain development in animals. However, epidemiological studies investigating the association between prenatal phthalate or bisphenol exposure and cognition have produced mixed findings and mostly had modest sample sizes and measured the exposure during the third trimester. We examined the association between pregnancy maternal urinary biomarkers of phthalate or bisphenol exposure and nonverbal intelligence quotient (IQ) in children 6 years of age. The study sample consisted of 1,282 mother-child pairs participating in the Generation R Study, a population-based birth cohort in Rotterdam, Netherlands (enrollment 2002-2006). We measured maternal urinary concentrations of 18 phthalate metabolites and 8 bisphenols at , 18-25, and of gestation. Child nonverbal IQ was measured at 6 years of age using the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test-Revised. Linear regression models were fit for each of the three collection phases separately, the three collection phases jointly, and for the averaged prenatal exposure across pregnancy. Higher urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites during early pregnancy were associated with lower child nonverbal IQ score [e.g., B per 10-fold increase in summed low-molecular (95% CI: , )]. This association remained unchanged when adjusted for mid and late pregnancy exposures. We also observed an inverse association between late pregnancy di- -octyl phthalate (DNOP) exposure and nonverbal IQ. Maternal urinary concentrations of bisphenols were not associated with child nonverbal IQ. There was no effect estimate modification by sex. We did not observe that maternal biomarkers of bisphenol exposure are associated with nonverbal IQ. We found that phthalate exposure in early pregnancy and DNOP exposure in late pregnancy are associated with lower nonverbal IQ scores in children. Our results might suggest that particularly early pregnancy is a sensitive window of phthalate exposure, but future studies are needed to replicate our findings. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6047.