Statistical Methods to Study Timing of Vulnerability with Sparsely Sampled Data on Environmental Toxicants

Sánchez, Brisa N.; Hu, Howard; Litman, Heather J.; Téllez‐Rojo, Martha María

doi:10.1289/ehp.1002453

Cited by 178 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

126

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although some authors selected critical windows a priori , windows were often simply the periods of gestation in which routine ultrasound scans were taken within that population. Although this is a logical approach, current literature suggests other methods to statistically study windows of susceptibility based on timing of exposure and outcome variables [36]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of ultrasound measurements in environmental epidemiological studies of air pollution and fetal growth

Smarr

Vadillo-Ortega

Castillo-Castrejón

et al. 2013

Current Opinion in Pediatrics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose of review Recently, several international research groups have suggested that studies about environmental contaminants and adverse pregnancy outcomes should be designed to elucidate potential underlying biological mechanisms. The purpose of this review is to examine the epidemiological studies addressing maternal exposure to air pollutants and fetal growth during gestation as assessed by ultrasound measurements. Recent findings The six studies published to date found that exposure to certain ambient air pollutants during pregnancy is negatively associated with the growth rates and average attained size of fetal parameters belonging to the growth profile. Fetal parameters may respond to maternal air pollution exposures uniquely, and this response may vary by pollutant and timing of gestational exposure. Current literature suggests that mean changes in head circumference, abdominal circumference, femur length, and biparietal diameter are negatively associated with early-pregnancy exposures to ambient and vehicle-related air pollution. Summary The use of more longitudinal studies, employing ultrasound measures to assess fetal outcomes, may assist with the better understanding of mechanisms responsible for air pollution-related pregnancy outcomes.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of ultrasound measurements in environmental epidemiological studies of air pollution and fetal growth

Smarr

Vadillo-Ortega

Castillo-Castrejón

et al. 2013

Current Opinion in Pediatrics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our longitudinal data enabled us to study associations at seven potentially sensitive time points from the 2 nd trimester through age 8 years. We were able to apply a novel approach used in previous investigations of environmental exposures and health outcomes (Sánchez et al 2011). This approach could be useful in future studies exploring windows of vulnerability to BPA exposure or other endocrine disruptors and health outcomes in children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used a multiple informant model to investigate associations between repeated prenatal and postnatal urinary BPA concentrations and the 8-year neurobehavioral outcomes (Sanchez et al 2011). This approach is applied when information gathered from multiple individuals or sources is used to measure the same construct and can be used when there are repeated and sparsely sampled environmental exposure measures at different time points (or windows) that serve as informants.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early life bisphenol A exposure and neurobehavior at 8 years of age: Identifying windows of heightened vulnerability

Stacy

Papandonatos

Calafat

et al. 2017

Environment International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Early life BPA exposure could affect neurobehavior, but few studies have investigated whether there are developmental periods when the fetus or child is more vulnerable to these potential effects. Objectives We explored windows of vulnerability to BPA exposure in a multiethnic cohort of 228 mothers and their children from Cincinnati, Ohio. Methods We measured urinary BPA concentrations at up to two prenatal and six postnatal time points from the 2nd trimester of pregnancy until the child was age 8 years. At age 8 years, we administered the Behavioral Assessment System for Children-2 (BASC-2), Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV. We estimated covariate-adjusted differences in composite scores from each instrument using a multiple informant model designed to identify heightened windows of vulnerability. Results Among all children, there was not strong evidence that the associations between BPA and neurobehavior varied by the timing of exposure (Visit × BPA p-values=0.16). However, child sex modified the associations of repeated BPA measures with BASC-2 scores (Visit × Sex × BPA p-values=0.02–0.23). For example, each 10-fold increase in prenatal BPA was associated with more externalizing behaviors in girls (β=6.2, 95% CI: 0.8, 11.6), but not boys (β=−0.8, 95% CI: −5.0, 3.4). In contrast, a 10-fold increase in 8-year BPA was associated with more externalizing behaviors in boys (β=3.9, 95% CI: 0.6, 7.2), but not girls (β=0.3, 95% CI: −3.5, 4.1). Conclusions We found that sex-dependent associations between BPA and child neurobehavior may depend on the timing of BPA exposure.

show abstract

“…However, it is unlikely that the number of urine samples collected is related to urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations and neurobehavioral test results. Finally, future studies should also consider using other statistical methods to identify potential periods of vulnerability during the preconception period (Sanchez et al, 2011). Nonetheless, our study design allowed us to comprehensively assess exposure in men and women before conception, as well as women during pregnancy, permitting us to adjust for and carefully examine the preconception period independent of prenatal exposure in relation to neurobehavior in children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paternal and maternal preconception urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations and child behavior

Messerlian

Bellinger

Mínguez-Alarcón

et al. 2017

Environmental Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Prenatal phthalate exposure has been associated with behavioral problems and lower performance on measures of cognitive ability in children. However, the potential effect of phthalate exposure during the sensitive preconception period is unknown. Objectives To estimate the association of maternal and paternal preconception urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations with child behavior and evaluate potential modification by child sex. Methods We used data from 166 children (111 singletons, 26 pairs of twins, and 1 set of triplets) born to 134 mothers and 100 fathers participating in a prospective preconception cohort study of subfertile couples from the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center. We estimated mean maternal and paternal preconception exposures by averaging individual phthalate metabolite concentrations in multiple urine samples collected before pregnancy. We assessed children's behavior at 2–9 years of age by parent report using the Behavior Assessment System for Children-2 (BASC-2). We estimated the covariate-adjusted association between individual phthalate metabolite concentrations and the sum of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites (Σ DEHP) and behavior scores, and evaluated differences in associations by child sex using linear regression with Generalized Estimating Equations. Models were further adjusted for prenatal phthalate concentrations in sensitivity analyses. Results Each loge-unit increase in maternal and paternal preconception concentrations of ΣDEHP was associated with a 2.0 (95% CI: − 3.2, − 0.7) and 1.8 (95% CI: − 3.1, − 0.4) point decrease in BASC-2 internalizing behavior scores among all children, respectively. We observed sex-specific associations for some phthalate biomarkers: among boys, maternal monoisobutyl phthalate (MiBP) was positively associated with externalizing behaviors, and paternal MiBP and mono-n-butyl phthalate were positively associated with internalizing behaviors. Conclusions In this cohort, paternal and maternal preconception concentrations of some phthalate biomarkers were associated with specific aspects of child behavior, even after adjustment for prenatal concentrations. While additional research is warranted to confirm these results, our findings suggest that the preconception period of exposure may be a critical window for offspring neurodevelopment.

show abstract

Statistical Methods to Study Timing of Vulnerability with Sparsely Sampled Data on Environmental Toxicants

Cited by 178 publications

References 33 publications

The use of ultrasound measurements in environmental epidemiological studies of air pollution and fetal growth

The use of ultrasound measurements in environmental epidemiological studies of air pollution and fetal growth

Early life bisphenol A exposure and neurobehavior at 8 years of age: Identifying windows of heightened vulnerability

Paternal and maternal preconception urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations and child behavior

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About