Grantee Research Project Results

2003 Progress Report: Perinatal PCB Exposure and Neuropsychological/Auditory Function

EPA Grant Number: R829390C002
Subproject: this is subproject number 002 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R829390
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Organotypic Culture Models For Predictive Toxicology Center
Center Director: Rusyn, Ivan
Title: Perinatal PCB Exposure and Neuropsychological/Auditory Function
Investigators: Sweeney, Anne , Symanski, Elaine , Schantz, Susan L. , Peck, Jennifer , Persky, Vicky
Current Investigators: Sweeney, Anne , Schantz, Susan L. , Peck, Jennifer , Persky, Vicky
Institution: The University of Texas at Houston , Texas A & M University , University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Current Institution: Texas A & M University , The University of Texas at Houston , University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: October 17, 2001 through October 16, 2002
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 17, 2002 through October 16, 2003
RFA: Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research (2001) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Human Health , Children's Health

Objective:

The objective of this research project is to examine the patterns of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and methylmercury (MeHg) exposures (occurring through consumption of contaminated sport-caught fish) during gestation and their effects on neuropsychological and auditory function among the children born to a cohort of Hmong and Laotian women.

Progress Summary:

Institutional Transfer

The project was transferred to the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health when the principal investigator relocated from the University of Texas Health Science Center in September 2002. Field efforts were postponed temporarily while awaiting the new Institutional Review Board approval of all study materials and the transfer of grant funds. During the transition period, study progress continued with planning and development tasks, such as the development of data collection instrument revisions, protocol modifications, consent form revisions, translation of study materials, menstrual cycle surveillance system development, hiring and training interviewers, and community outreach.

Summary of Field Efforts

To date, 352 Hmong and Laotian families in the study area have been contacted. Of the 240 families determined to be eligible, 174 (72%) couples of childbearing age have been enrolled in the study. We are resuming recruitment in the Green Bay area and expanding recruitment efforts to include residents of the city of Appleton in the pool of eligible participants. The phlebotomy protocol has been developed and finalized. In preparation for conducting the infant auditory assessments, we have determined that 94 percent of birthing facilities in the state of Wisconsin have a Universal Newborn Screening Program. The prospect of pooling existing resources is being explored by contacting area hospitals to identify the range of existing hearing screening protocols and the technology currently in use at each location.

Preliminary data from baseline interviews reveal that 82 percent of the men and 85 percent of the women in the study population are Hmong, whereas 15 percent and 13 percent, respectively, are Lao. More than one-half of the respondents (54% of men and 62% of women) reported less than an eighth grade education. The mean number of children per family is 4.9, ranging from 0 to 14. Concerning the most recent pregnancy, 7 percent reported they were not trying to get pregnant, 20 percent were trying actively, and 67 percent were “not concerned.” Approximately one-third of the couples reported intentions to have another child within the next 3 years. More than 24 percent of women in this cohort reported irregular menses, defined as length varying 5 days or more from one cycle to the next, and more than 4 percent reported difficulty becoming pregnant within 12 months. Approximately 50 percent reported consumption of fish from local waters in the past year, and 36 percent reported the use of pesticides in or around the home within the previous 12 months.

Menstrual Cycle Tracking and Pregnancy Surveillance

The objective of this component of the project is to follow all female participants prospectively to track menstrual cycle characteristics and to identify early pregnancies. To collect these data, special consideration has been given to the development of a data collection instrument that considers the population’s cultural beliefs and customs. Among these customs is a tendency not to acknowledge pregnancy verbally until late in gestation. Additionally, many of our participants do not communicate in English or read and write in their native language. A focus group was conducted with women in the Hmong community to evaluate the acceptability of a diary system designed around beads, which are valued highly as a component of the Hmong traditional clothing. Feedback from the focus group was used to modify the diary system to appeal to the more acculturated as well as the more traditional members of the study population. A revised menstrual cycle diary subsequently was developed to use color-coded adhesive stickers to mark consecutive nonbleeding and bleeding days on a pocket-sized calendar. The revised protocol involves visits to the home once every 2 months to count the number of bleeding and nonbleeding days recorded in the diary and to transfer the information to a data abstraction form. Urine samples also will be collected during each bimonthly home visit to identify early pregnancy by testing for human chorionic gonadotropin. A second focus group has been organized this summer to obtain community feedback on the revised instrument. We anticipate that the menstrual cycle tracking and pregnancy surveillance system will be implemented shortly after this feedback is incorporated.

New Investigator Activities

Dr. Peck has joined the project in the position of New Investigator, providing epidemiologic support and taking the lead role in the development and implementation of the menstrual cycle and pregnancy surveillance system. As the Center’s new investigator, she is charged with the mission of securing additional funding to advance the Center’s theme of research on environmental exposures and children’s health. Since joining the project in November, Dr. Peck has submitted two proposals to fund supplemental pilot studies. The Fox River Environment and Diet Study, also known as FRIENDS, cohort is exposed to environmental contaminants through consumption of fish from highly contaminated local waters. In addition to PCB contamination, there is concern about additional environmental toxic agents that may be present in fish from the Fox River, as there is heavy industrial activity and dumping that occurs along this body of water. The objective of both pilot studies is to generate preliminary exposure assessment data to support a grant application to evaluate environmental exposures and adverse reproductive outcomes in the established Asian American cohort. The first proposal was submitted to the Texas A&M University Center for Environmental and Rural Health with the aim of quantifying and describing the concentration of urinary phthalates and organophosphate metabolites in 20 Hmong and Laotian couples of childbearing age (n = 40). The secondary aim of this pilot study is to develop and pretest a culturally appropriate and sensitive survey instrument to identify relevant sources of phthalate and organophosphate exposures in the study population. The second application was submitted to the Texas A&M Women’s Interdisciplinary Health Research Program. By collecting three urine samples at 2-month intervals from 25 Hmong and Laotian women (n = 75 samples), the study proposes to assess the variability of urinary phthalate esters over time in reproductive-aged women.

Future Activities:

Baseline blood sample collection is scheduled to commence in conjunction with the administration of a fish consumption and pregnancy history update questionnaire. Preparations also are being made to initiate the prospective pregnancy surveillance component of the project.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 5 publications for this subproject

Supplemental Keywords:

children’s health, disease and cumulative effects, ecological risk assessment, susceptibility, sensitive population, toxicology, Fox River, PCBs, exposure assessment, heavy metals, methylmercury, pesticides, fish consumption,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Health, PHYSICAL ASPECTS, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Toxicology, Health Risk Assessment, Risk Assessments, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Physical Processes, Molecular Biology/Genetics, Children's Health, genetic susceptability, Risk Assessment, developmental neurotoxicology, neurotoxic, sensitive populations, childhood cancer, biomarkers, animal model, developmental effects, exposure, perinatal exposure, Human Health Risk Assessment, children, assessment of exposure, children's vulnerablity, residential populations, methylmercury, PCB, neurodevelopmental toxicity, human exposure, neurobehavioral effects, auditory function, biological markers, toxics, environmental hazard exposures

Relevant Websites:

http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/vb/friends_center/ Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

Final

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R829390    Organotypic Culture Models For Predictive Toxicology Center

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R829390C001 Neurobehavioral Effects of PCBs and Methylmercury in Rats
R829390C002 Perinatal PCB Exposure and Neuropsychological/Auditory Function
R829390C003 FRIENDS Analytical Toxicology Core Facility
R829390C004 Developmental Effects of PCBs and Methylmercury