Brominated flame retardants in breast milk and behavioural and cognitive development at 36 months.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are persistent flame retardants found in the environment, in household dust, and in humans. Breast feeding is a prominent route of exposure in infancy. PBDEs adversely affect neurodevelopment in animals. Here, we estimate associations between PBDEs in breast milk and behaviour and cognitive skills in children at 36 months of age.

Methods

We prospectively studied 304 mothers and their children. We measured PBDEs in breast milk collected at 3 months postpartum. At 36 months, we measured child behaviour with the parent-rated Behavioral Assessment System for Children 2 (n = 192), and cognitive skills with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (n = 184). We analysed data with robust regression.

Results

We detected BDE-28, -47

SUBMITTER: Adgent MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3997742 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature