Prenatal manganese and working memory in school-aged children in Mexico City: A multi-media biomarker approach
Year: 2022
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Background/Aim: Mn is a nutrient, and over/underexposure may be linked to poorer development, but little work has addressed executive functioning, including working memory (WM). We used the multi-media biomarker (MMB) approach to assess prenatal blood and urine levels as predictors of WM in children. Methods: Leveraging the PROGRESS birth cohort in Mexico City, children (N = 572) ages 6–8 completed the CANTAB Spatial Working Memory (SWM) task. We used between errors (incorrectly returning to a previously selected empty box) and strategy (whether children begin new searches randomly or in a pattern) as primary outcomes. Blood and urinary Mn levels were collected from mothers in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Multiple regression models estimated the association between Mn biomarkers at each trimester with SWM. We categorized Mn exposure as low (1st quintile of Mn concentrations), moderate (2nd–4th quintiles), and high (5th quintile) levels. We used weighted quantile sum regression to estimate the MMB integrated effect of combined Mn biomarkers on the SWM measures. Models were adjusted for maternal age, education, socioeconomic status, and child’s gender and age at CANTAB assessment. Results: Low blood Mn in the 3rd trimester was associated with higher between error scores, indicating poorer WM (B = 3.24, 95% CI: 0.11, 6.36) using moderate blood Mn as the reference group, but was not with the strategy scores. The integrated Mn MMB was inversely associated with WM performance (B = -2.19, 95% CI: -3.51, -0.09). In the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, urinary Mn contributed the most prominent weight to the MMB effect (40.4% and 40.1% contributions, respectively). Conclusion: Lower prenatal blood Mn and combined blood and urine Mn were associated with poorer WM performance in school-age children. Given that Mn is a nutrient, this analysis suggests that maternal Mn deficiency may affect WM. Keywords: Prenatal exposure, Manganese, Working memory,
Source: ISEE Conference Abstracts
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4317181758