Exposure to flame retardant during pregnancy causes attention problems in kids

Products, such as furniture and plastics, have been found to have a negative impact on pregnancy because of a flame retardant. The exposure to the chemical has been found to aid the development of attention problems in young children.

The new study supports previous peer-reviewed epidemiological studies showing links between the exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, during pregnancy and symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity among children. PBDE is commonly found in plastics, furniture, textiles and wiring, which can help reduce the product’s flammability.

PBDEs are still abundant in the environment despite being phased out in 2004 due to its health hazards. The researchers, from the Columbia Centre for Children’s Environmental Health, said that the new study is the first of its kind to determine the effects of prenatal exposure to PBDEs on children’s development.

PBDEs were found not to be chemically bound to the materials where it has been applied, which causes the chemicals to escape and transfer into the environment. Humans tend to ingest the chemicals through house dust and consumption of meat, dairy and fatty fish exposed to PBDEs.

The Inquisitr reported that pregnant woman might also be exposed to PBDEs through drinking contaminated water, or living near a waste site. There is also a higher chance of exposure for people working on electronics and waste disposal, computer recycling, construction and upholstering, it added.

The study, published in the journal Neurotoxicology and Teratology, shows that the children, ages three, four and seven, have about twice the number of maternally reported attention problems due to higher prenatal exposure to certain PBDEs than other children involved in the study. The analysis involved 210 mother-child pairs who had experienced the Sept 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre.

The researchers monitored the participants from birth through early childhood, with the study designed to analyse the impacts of exposure to dust, smoke and fumes on child development. Blood samples from the umbilical cord of the children were examined to assess the prenatal exposure of mothers to PBDEs.

The researchers then evaluated the child behaviour beginning at age three through a standardised rating scale. The test was repeated every year until the child reaches seven.

The factors associated to PBDE exposure levels or neurodevelopment in other studies were considered in the new study. These included the age at testing, sex and ethnicity of the child, the mother’s IQ, maternal age, marital status, maternal demoralisation and the exposure to environmental tobacco smoke during pregnancy.

The study reinforces the previous decision to stop using PBDEs in consumer products. The findings also indicate the need to develop programmes to safely dispose products that are still in use and contain PBDEs, according to study’s senior author Dr Julie Herbstman, assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences.

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