Prenatal and 5-year p,p'-DDE exposures are associated with altered sensory processing in school-aged children in Nunavik: A visual evoked potential study.

• Published in: NeuroToxicology
• Main Authors: Cartier, Chloé, Muckle, Gina, Jacobson, Sandra W, Jacobson, Joseph L, Dewailly, Eric, Ayotte, Pierre, Chevrier, Cécile, Saint-Amour, Dave
• Other Authors: Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail (Irset), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Rennes (UR)-École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique EHESP (EHESP)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Structure Fédérative de Recherche en Biologie et Santé de Rennes ( Biosit : Biologie - Santé - Innovation Technologique ), Département de psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal (UQAM), Axe santé des populations et pratiques optimales en santé, Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, CHU Québec-CHU Québec-École de psychologie, Université Laval Québec (ULaval)-Université Laval Québec (ULaval), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University Detroit, CHU Québec, Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Université Laval Québec (ULaval), Centre de recherche et département d'ophtalmologie, CHU Sainte Justine Montréal, This research was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health and Sciences/U.S. National Institutes of Health (R01 ES07902 to J.L.J.), Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - Northern Contaminants Program (G.M.), a Joseph Young, Sr., grant from the State of Michigan (S.W.J.), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (D. S.-A.), and the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: Neurotoxicity; Sensory processing; Visual evoked potentials; p′-DDE; p′-DDT; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Arctic; Nunavik; inuit
• Online Access: https://univ-rennes.hal.science/hal-01061309; https://univ-rennes.hal.science/hal-01061309/document; https://univ-rennes.hal.science/hal-01061309/file/Prenatal_and_5-year-NEUTOX-D-13-00192R2_v4.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2014.04.009

International audience Due to their geographic location and traditional diet, rich in seafood and marine mammals, the Inuit living in Arctic Quebec are exposed to high amounts of pollutants, including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). While the adverse developmental effects of these pesticides on child cognitive functions are well known, the effects of developmental exposure to OP on sensory processes have not been investigated. The aim of this longitudinal study was to assess the effects of prenatal and childhood exposure to 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p'-DDT) and its major metabolite 1,1,-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDE), on visual processing in Inuit children in Nunavik (Arctic Québec). p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE concentrations were determined from umbilical cord and 5- and 11-year plasma samples. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were successfully recorded in 150 children at 4 contrast levels (95%, 30%, 12%, and 4%). Hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to determine the association between p,p'-DDT, or p,p'-DDE, exposure and VEPs while controlling for the effects of various confounders, including fish nutrients and other contaminants. p,p'-DDE measured in umbilical cord plasma was significantly related to the amplitude of the N150 response at the lowest contrast (4%). In addition, 5-year p,p'-DDE plasma concentration was significantly associated with decreased N75 amplitude. These findings indicate that p,p'-DDE exposure, both pre- and postnatally, during early childhood is associated with visual processing impairment later in life.