Acetylcholinesterase activity and neurodevelopment in boys and girls

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alexander BH ; Gunnar MR ; Himes JH ; Jacobs DR Jr. ; Suarez-Lopez JR
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Organophosphate exposures can affect children's neurodevelopment, possibly due to neurotoxicity induced by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition, and may affect boys more than girls. We tested the hypothesis that lower AChE activity is associated with lower neurobehavioral development among children living in Ecuadorian floricultural communities. METHODS: In 2008, we examined 307 children (age: 4-9 years; 52% male) and quantified AChE activity and neurodevelopment in 5 domains: attention/executive functioning, language, memory/learning, visuospatial processing, and sensorimotor (NEPSY-II test). Associations were adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and height-for-age, flower worker cohabitation, and hemoglobin concentration. RESULTS: Mean 6 standard deviation AChE activity was 3.14 6 0.49 U/ mL (similar for both genders). The range of scores among neurodevelopment subtests was 5.9 to 10.7 U (standard deviation: 2.6-4.9 U). Girls had a greater mean attention/executive functioning domain score than boys. In boys only, there were increased odds ratios of low (,9th percentile) neurodevelopment among those in the lowest tertile versus the highest tertile of AChE activity (odds ratios: total neurodevelopment: 5.14 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.84 to 31.48]; attention/executive functioning domain: 4.55 [95% CI: 1.19 to 17.38], memory/learning domain: 6.03 [95% CI: 1.17 to 31.05]) after adjustment for socioeconomic and demographic factors, height-forage, and hemoglobin. Within these domains, attention, inhibition and long-term memory subtests were most affected. CONCLUSIONS: Low AChE activity was associated with deficits in neurodevelopment, particularly in attention, inhibition, and memory in boys but not in girls. These critical cognitive skills affect learning and academic performance. Added precautions regarding secondary occupational pesticide exposure would be prudent. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Agriculture Behavior Demography Insecticides Nervous System Occupational Health Organophosphates Safety
• Keywords:
  Acetylcholinesterase AChE ADD ADHD Age-groups Agricultural Communities Attention Author Keywords: Acetylcholinesterase Boys Children Demographic-characteristics Ecuador Floriculture Flower Girls Growth Humans Inhibition Inhibitory Control Memory Neurobehavioral Development Neurodevelopment Neurological-system Neurotoxicity Organo-phosphorus-compounds Pesticide Pesticides Pesticides-and-agricultural-chemicals Plantation Sociological-factors Statistical-analysis

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• ISSN:
  0031-4005
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Minnesota ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  132
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043676
• Citation:
  Pediatrics 2013 Dec; 132(6):e1649-1658
• Contact Point Address:
  Jose R. Suarez-Lopez, MPH, MD, PhD, Division of Global Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr M/C 0725, La Jolla, CA 92093-07
• Email:
  jrsuarez@ucsd.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070930
• Source Full Name:
  Pediatrics
• End Date:
  20090531
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8b4f272849e273127cee20944368a70826c589ae59dd1349825dd546384f85ce1bf831b8b9af404271456686a2634df7bd68da4815fc74b05b45e527ab29e305
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195511/cdc_195511_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 998.99 KB ]