Prenatal exposure to particulate matter and ADHD in children: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Background/Aim Environmental factors may play a role in the development of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and some studies have shown that ambient air pollution is associated with the ADHD. This study was designed to investigate the impact of prenatal particulate matter (PM10) exposure on ADHD among children over 60 months of age in Korea by using MOCEH birth cohort study’s data.Methods This study is a part of the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, a Korean multi-center prospective birth cohort study initiated in 2006. After the delivery, children were followed up at 60, 72, 84 and 96 months of age. The average exposure level of particulate matter (PM10) were estimated using the inverse distance weighting (IDW) method from the prenatal period. ADHD behaviour were assessed using the K-ARS, K-CBCL/1.5-5 and 6-18 at each follow-up period. Generalized Linear Models (GLM) were used to explore the association between PM10 and ADHD.Results The mean PM10 concentrations during total pregnancy was 54.1μg/m3 with a range from 24.2 to 85.7μg/m3. In the GLM model, exposure to PM10 at first trimester and during pregnancy showed significant positive association with 72 months K-ARS score (β=0.06, 95% CI: 0.01,0.11 for first trimester, β=0.10, 95% CI: 0.01,0.19 for total pregnancy exposure). Furthermore, exposure to PM10 at first trimester and during total pregnancy showed significant association with 60, 72, and 84 months K-CBCL score, especially with total problems, attention problems and aggressive behaviour (β=0.26, 95% CI: 0.07,0.44 between first trimester and total problem score at 60 months, β=0.10, 95% CI: 0.05,0.15 between first trimester and attention problems at 72 months).Conclusions In conclusions, our results have demonstrated that the prenatal PM10 concentration was significantly associated with ADHD behaviour in Korean children. Further studies regarding other air pollutants’ effects to the neurodevelopment in children are recommended.