1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-6-64 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-6-8-11 Learning and Behavior Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Prenatal Heavy Metal Exposure and Cognition http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 08 1992 01 07 2016 6 8 64 64 Copyright: © 1992 The Author(s) 1992 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Prenatal exposure to heavy metals: effect on childhood cognitive skills and health status

The effects of prenatal exposure to heavy metals on childhood cognitive skills and health status are reported from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ.

 Prenatal Heavy Metal Exposure Toxic Risk Score Atopic Illnesses

The effects of prenatal exposure to heavy metals on childhood cognitive skills and health status are reported from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ. Cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, mercury, nickel and silver were determined in amniotic fluid taken from 92 pregnant women at 16 - 18 weeks gestation. A prenatal toxic risk score was based on the presence of a detectable level for the various metals. A correlation analysis indicated a negative relation between the toxic risk score and cognitive performance and a significant positive correlation between the toxic risk score and both the total number of atopic illnesses and infections assessed at 3 years of age. These findings indicate that health status as well as cognitive ability may show deficits as a consequence of prenatal heavy metal exposure. [1]

COMMENT. Lead intoxication in infants is common and is of different origin from that in toddlers [2]. Formula preparation with lead contaminated water accounted for 9 of 50 infantile cases whereas paint chip ingestion was the most common cause among 47 children (86%) aged 18 through 30 months. These data support recent recommendations to initiate lead screening in children at 6 months of age. A maintained average blood level of 25 ug/dL or more during the second and third year of life was found to be detrimental to the child’s attained stature at 33 months of age in a study from the University of Cincinnati. [3]

 Lewis M Worobey J Ramsay DS McCormack MK Prenatal exposure to heavy metals: effect on childhood cognitive skills and health status Pediatrics 1992 Jun 89 6 Pt 1 1010 1015 1594339 Shannon MW Graef JW Lead intoxication in infancy Pediatrics 1992 Jan 89 1 87 90 1728028 Shukla R Dietrich KN Bornschein RL Berger O Hammond PB Lead exposure and growth in the early preschool child: a follow-up report from the Cincinnati Lead Study Pediatrics 1991 Nov 88 5 886 892 1945627