Environmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) occurs worldwide, and most individuals in developed nations have measurable levels of organochlorines in adipose tissues. This project proposes to estimate the risks associated with perinatal exposure to PCBs for developmental deficits or delays on various measures of neurologic, neurobehavioral, and intellectual outcomes. The investigators, with support of the European Commission, have established a birth cohort of 200 children recruited consecuttively since March, 1994 from a relatively homogenous population in the Fazroe Islands. The northeast Atlantic Ocean where the Faroes reside is known to be one of the largest environmental reservoirs of PCBs. Due to consumption of pilot whale blubber, the average PCB exposure in this cohort is believed to be substantially higher than established averages in Northern Europe and is expected to vary 10 to 20 fold. Developmental exposure to PCBs will be determined prenatally by maternal and cord serum and breast mile PCB concentrations. This cohort has already been evaluated at 10 to 15 days of age with the Touwen neonatal neurologic scale. Currently, the revised Bayley Scales of Infant Development, the Fagan Test, and measures of infant linguistic performance are being administered at 7 months of age. Follow-up assessments include at 18 months the Bayley-II, and a neurologic examination at 30 months, with more extensive test batteries at ages 42, 54, and 66 months.
| Grandjean, Philippe; Weihe, Pal (2003) Arachidonic acid status during pregnancy is associated with polychlorinated biphenyl exposure. Am J Clin Nutr 77:715-9 |
| Fangstrom, Britta; Athanasiadou, Maria; Grandjean, Philippe et al. (2002) Hydroxylated PCB metabolites and PCBs in serum from pregnant Faroese women. Environ Health Perspect 110:895-9 |
| Grandjean, P; Bjerve, K S; Weihe, P et al. (2001) Birthweight in a fishing community: significance of essential fatty acids and marine food contaminants. Int J Epidemiol 30:1272-8 |
| Steuerwald, U; Weihe, P; Jorgensen, P J et al. (2000) Maternal seafood diet, methylmercury exposure, and neonatal neurologic function. J Pediatr 136:599-605 |
