Background: The present research aimed to investigate the efficacy of a multifaceted

Background Despite evidence for the effects of metals on neurodevelopment, the long-term effects on mental health remain unclear due to methodological limitations. Our objective was to determine the feasibility of studying metal exposure during critical neurodevelopmental periods and to explore the association between early-life metal exposure and adult schizophrenia. Methods We analyzed childhood-shed teeth from nine individuals with schizophrenia and five healthy controls. We investigated the association between exposure to lead (Pb2+), manganese (Mn2+), cadmium (Cd2+), copper (Cu2+), magnesium (Mg2+), and zinc (Zn2+), and schizophrenia, psychotic experiences, and intelligence quotient (IQ). We reconstructed the dose and timing of early-life metal exposures using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Results We found higher early-life Pb2+ exposure among patients with schizophrenia than controls. The differences in log Mn2+ and log Cu2+ changed relatively linearly over time to postnatal negative values. There was a positive correlation between early-life Pb2+ levels and psychotic experiences in adulthood. Moreover, we found a negative correlation between Pb2+ levels and adult IQ. Conclusions In our proof-of-concept study, using tooth-matrix biomarker that provides direct measurement of exposure in the fetus and newborn, we provide support for the role of metal exposure during critical neurodevelopmental periods in psychosis.

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While previous studies have found evidence for detrimental effects of metals on neurodevelopment, the long-term effects on mental health remain unclear. The objective was to explore the effect of early metal exposure on risk of psychotic disorder and on symptom severity following illness onset. Through the use of validated tooth-biomarkers, we estimated pre- and postnatal exposure levels of essential elements (copper, magnesium, manganese, and zinc) and elements associated with neurotoxicity (lead, arsenic, lithium, and tin). We found consistently higher levels of lithium in patients compared to controls. Higher levels of magnesium and lower levels of zinc were associated with more severe psychopathology over 20 years after metal exposure. The results show promise for the use of teeth biomarkers in examining early environmental risk for psychosis and underscore the relevance of studying metal exposure during critical neurodevelopmental periods.

BackgroundChildhood exposure to social risk has the potential to disrupt brain development and increase vulnerability to adverse mental health outcomes. Here, we examine the effect of adversity on brain structure and psychopathology in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a US population-based sample of 10 year-olds.MethodsPersonal, caregiver, family and neighborhood characteristics were considered in 9299 unrelated children [age: mean (sd)=9.9 y (0.6); 53% males]. Hidden Markov Models were used identify clusters of participants based on their psychosocial exposure. The identified clusters were compared in terms of current psychopathology, lifetime psychiatric diagnosis, intelligence and brain structure.ResultsABCD participants clustered in to a “disadvantaged” group (N=4205) with multiple adverse exposures, and an “enriched” group (N= 5094) with limited exposure to adversity and multiple protective factors. Compared to the enriched group, the disadvantaged group had higher levels of all types of psychopathology and lifetime psychiatric diagnoses; lower scores on fluid and crystallized intelligence; smaller subcortical volumes; thinner sensorimotor cortices and thicker cortex in frontal regions; smaller surface area in temporal regions and larger surface area in the posterior cingulate cortices (all p<0.05 following Bonferroni correction for multiple testing).ConclusionsSocial adversity has significant and wide-ranging consequences for brain development and psychopathology, that shows little specificity for types of symptoms.DisclosureNo significant relationships.