![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081105220556im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
2005 Progress Report: Perinatal PCB Exposure and Neuropsychological/Auditory Function
EPA Grant Number: R829390C002Subproject: this is subproject number 002 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R829390
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: CECEHDPR - University of Illinois FRIENDS Children’s Environmental Health Center
Center Director: Schantz, Susan L.
Title: Perinatal PCB Exposure and Neuropsychological/Auditory Function
Investigators: Sweeney, Anne , Peck, Jennifer , Persky, Vicky , Schantz, Susan L.
Institution: Texas A & M University , University of Illinois at Urbana
EPA Project Officer: Saint, Chris
Project Period: October 17, 2001 through October 16, 2002
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 17, 2004 through October 16, 2005
RFA: Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research (2001)
Research Category: Health Effects , Children's Health
Description:
Objective:The objective of this research project is to examine the patterns of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and methylmercury (MeHg) exposures (occurring through consumption of contaminated sport-caught fish) during gestation and their effects on neuropsychological and auditory function among the children born to a cohort of Hmong and Laotian women.
Progress Summary:The protocol has been modified to accommodate cultural sensitivities that prohibited following certain aspects of the previous protocol. This has enabled us to begin recruiting currently pregnant women and their partners as well as continue to enroll preconception couples. We continue to enroll in Green Bay and Appleton, Wisconsin, with a total of 191 couples enrolled to date. Partnerships with three local hospitals in these areas for the collection of umbilical cord blood as well as auditory and neurological data at the time of delivery have been established.
Menstrual Cycle Tracking and Pregnancy Surveillance
The objective of this component of the project is to follow all female participants prospectively to track menstrual cycle characteristics and to identify early pregnancies. To collect these data, special consideration has been given to the development of a data collection instrument that considers the population’s cultural beliefs and customs. Among these customs is a tendency not to acknowledge pregnancy verbally until late in gestation. Additionally, many of our participants do not communicate in English or read and write in their native language. The revised protocol involves visits to the home once every 2 months to conduct a urine pregnancy test to identify early pregnancy. Once pregnancy is determined, the women will be visited every month at home to collect information on a select number of key variables describing potential exposure changes during pregnancy. This protocol currently is being used in the field, with all data collection instruments and biological sample collection protocols in place.
New Investigator Activities
Dr. Peck, the new investigator, was successful in obtaining additional funding to conduct two supplemental pilot studies. The Fox River Environment and Diet Study, also known as FRIENDS, cohort is exposed to environmental contaminants through consumption of fish from highly contaminated local waters. In addition to PCB contamination, there is concern about additional environmental toxic agents that may be present in fish from the Fox River, as there is heavy industrial activity and dumping that occurs along this body of water. The objective of both pilot studies is to generate preliminary exposure assessment data to support a grant application to evaluate environmental exposures and adverse reproductive outcomes in the established Asian American cohort. The first proposal was submitted to the Texas A&M University Center for Environmental and Rural Health, with the aim of quantifying and describing the concentration of urinary phthalates and organophosphate metabolites in 20 Hmong and Laotian couples of childbearing age (n = 40). The secondary aim of this pilot study is to develop and pretest a culturally appropriate and sensitive survey instrument to identify relevant sources of phthalate and organophosphate exposures in the study population. The second application was submitted to the Texas A&M Women’s Interdisciplinary Health Research Program. By collecting three urine samples at 2-month intervals from 25 Hmong and Laotian women (n = 75 samples), the study proposes to assess the variability of urinary phthalate esters over time in reproductive-aged women. These studies also have been implemented, and urine collection has begun.
Intervention
The educational video (available in Hmong and Laotian with English subtitles) to be used in the intervention was completed in summer of 2004. During Year 4 of the project, materials to be used with the video, including fact sheets and other informational materials, were developed and translated. A questionnaire to test knowledge of key information about PCBs and MeHg, their presence in fish, and their health effects before and after the intervention was developed and translated. Finally, protocols for specific intervention procedures to be used with Hmong and Lao community members were established. The intervention is scheduled to begin in late summer or early fall of 2005.
Manuscripts in Preparation
Three manuscripts currently are in preparation. The first is a methodology paper that describes the study protocol, including recruitment and data collection procedures, biological sample collection and processing, and the neuropsychological and auditory testing procedures. The second manuscript is a descriptive report of the reproductive histories and contraceptive practices of the Hmong women in the cohort, with a particular focus on the overall comparison of pregnancy outcomes occurring in their country of origin versus pregnancies conceived since their migration to the United States. Finally, the within-woman reproductive experiences of the Hmong and Laotian women will be examined using country of birth of the infant as a surrogate for exposures, controlling for important confounding variables.
Future Activities:Recruitment efforts aimed at both currently pregnant women as well as those at-risk of pregnancy will be intensified, following the newly revised protocol for pregnancy surveillance. Blood and urine samples will be collected for PCB and MeHg analyses, as well as for phthalate exposure assessment, as described under Dr. Peck’s pilot study protocols. Testing of the infants will begin at birth, including evaluations of neurological and auditory function. The intervention study will be conducted. In addition, we will continue to support outreach activities to the community through such means as open house functions, newsletters, and provision of school supplies packets.
Journal Articles on this Report: 2 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other subproject views: | All 5 publications | 3 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
| Other center views: | All 40 publications | 24 publications in selected types | All 23 journal articles |
| Type | Citation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Dietrich KN, Eskenazi B, Schantz S, Yolton K, Rauh VA, Johnson CB, Alkon A, Canfield RL, Pessah IN, Berman RF. Principles and practices of neurodevelopmental assessment in children: lessons learned from the Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research. Environmental Health Perspectives 2005;113(10):1437-1446. |
R829390 (2005) R829390C002 (2005) R829388 (2006) R829389 (2005) R831710 (2005) R832141 (2006) |
not available |
|
|
Eskenazi B, Gladstone EA, Berkowitz GS, Drew CH, Faustman EM, Holland NT, Lanphear B, Meisel SJ, Perera FP, Rauh VA, Sweeney A, Whyatt RM, Yolton K. Methodological issues in conducting longitudinal birth cohort studies: lessons learned from the Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research. Environmental Health Perspectives 2005;113(10):1419-1429. |
R829390 (2005) R829390C002 (2005) R831711 (2007) |
not available |
children’s health, disease and cumulative effects, ecological risk assessment, susceptibility, sensitive population, toxicology, Fox River, PCBs, exposure assessment, heavy metals, methylmercury, pesticides, fish consumption,
,
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Scientific Discipline, Health, RFA, PHYSICAL ASPECTS, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Molecular Biology/Genetics, Toxicology, Risk Assessment, Risk Assessments, genetic susceptability, Health Risk Assessment, Physical Processes, Children's Health, biomarkers, developmental neurotoxicology, neurological development, environmental hazard exposures, neurodevelopmental toxicity, methylmercury, developmental effects, perinatal exposure, assessment of exposure, childhood cancer, toxics, sensitive populations, neurotoxic, biological markers, children, residential populations, exposure, PCB, children's vulnerablity, neurobehavioral effects, auditory function, human exposure, Human Health Risk Assessment
Relevant Websites:
http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/vb/friends_center/ 
Progress and Final Reports:
2002 Progress Report
2003 Progress Report
2004 Progress Report
Original Abstract
Main Center Abstract and Reports:
R829390 CECEHDPR - University of Illinois FRIENDS Children’s Environmental Health Center
Subprojects under this Center:
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R829390C001 Neurobehavioral Effects of PCBs and Methylmercury in Rats
R829390C002 Perinatal PCB Exposure and Neuropsychological/Auditory Function
R829390C003 FRIENDS Analytical Toxicology Core Facility
R829390C004 Developmental Effects of PCBs and Methylmercury