Micronutrients during pregnancy and child psychomotor development: Opposite effects of Zinc and Selenium

Abstract

Studies on the impact of micronutrient levels during different pregnancy periods on child psychomotor functions are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between maternal plasma concentrations of selected micronutrients, such as: copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), and child neuropsychological development. The study population consisted of 539 mother-child pairs from Polish Mother and Child Cohort (REPRO_PL). The micronutrient levels were measured in each trimester of pregnancy, at delivery and in the cord blood. Psychomotor development was assessed in children at the age of 1 and 2 years using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. The mean plasma Zn, Cu and Se concentrations in the 1st trimester of pregnancy were 0.91±0.27mg/l, 1.98±0.57mg/l and 48.35±10.54μg/l, respectively. There were no statistically significant associations between Cu levels and any of the analyzed domains of child development. A positive association was observed between Se level in the 1st trimester of pregnancy and child language and motor skills (β=0.18, p=0.03 and β=0.25, p=0.005, respectively) at one year of age. Motor score among one-year-old children decreased along with increasing Zn levels in the 1st trimester of pregnancy and in the cord blood (β=-12.07, p=0.003 and β=-6.51, p=0.03, respectively). A similar pattern was observed for the association between Zn level in the 1st trimester of pregnancy and language abilities at one year of age (β=-7.37, p=0.05). Prenatal Zn and Se status was associated with lower and higher child psychomotor abilities, respectively, within the first year of life. Further epidemiological and preclinical studies are necessary to confirm the associations between micronutrient levels and child development as well as to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of their effects.

Maternal selenium status and neuropsychological development in Spanish preschool children

“…These results are in line with those we showed in a previous study on the same cohort, where neuropsychological development was assessed at around 12 months of age, and a statistically relevant inverted U-shaped relationship was observed with the mental scale measured with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Amorós et al, 2018). (Skröder et al, 2015) and Poland (mean of Se in serum at the first trimester of pregnancy: 48.3 µg/L) (Polanska et al, 2016(Polanska et al, , 2017. Additionally, a positive, but only marginally significant, association was observed between cord blood Se serum (geometric mean of 40.1 ng/g) and the language domain among children who were non-carriers of the ε4 allele for the apolipoprotein E gene, but not in the ε4 carriers (Snoj Tratnik et al, 2017).…”

Sex-Dependent Impact of Low-Level Lead Exposure during Prenatal Period on Child Psychomotor Functions

“…In order to estimate the children’s neurodevelopment (including language, cognitive, and motor functions) at the age of one and two, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley 3rd edition) was applied [ 13 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Duration of breastfeeding and psychomotor development in 1-year-old children – Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study

“…12 (±1.5) months. Details regarding child psychomotor assessment have been published before [19][20][21][22][23]. Examination was performed at pediatric medical centers at 2 university hospitals in Łódź and Legnica.…”

“…The covariates considered in the analysis were as follows: maternal age at delivery, pre-pregnancy BMI, weight gain during pregnancy, parental level of education (highest level of completed education), marital status, socioeconomic status, maternal salivary cotinine during pregnancy, child passive smoking status within 1 year after birth (based on maternal smoking status during the first year after delivery and child urinary cotinine at 1 year of age), child gender, birthweight, type of delivery, preterm delivery and child day care attendance. Details regarding the assessment of the variables have been published previously [20][21][22][23].…”