Social impairment in 6-year-old children exposed to manganese during prenatal and postnatal periods

Abstract

TPS 631: Metals and health 1, Johan Friso Foyer, Floor 1, August 27, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Background: Manganese (Mn) is an essential nutrient for humans and animals, but excess intake of Mn can lead to adverse developmental outcome. Several studies have suggested associations between manganese exposure and neurodevelopment in children, but studies on IQ scores have been focused, and research on social impairment is still limited. In this study, we assessed the relationship between manganese exposure and social impairment in 6-year-old children. Methods: We conducted an analysis of 512 participants in the Environment and Development of Children (EDC) Study who were 6 years old from 2015 to 2016. Manganese concentration was measured in children’s blood at 6 years of age. We evaluated the association between blood Mn concentration and social impairment using Korean version of the Social Communication Questionnaire (K-SCQ). We also assessed the association between prenatal manganese exposure and social impairment in children. Results: The mean Mn concentration in children’s blood at 6 years of age was 12.749 μg/L. Blood Mn concentration was significantly associated with a decrease in the social impairment in children (β = -0.253, P = 0.011). When stratified by gender, boys showed meaningful decrease in social impairment (β = -0.417, P = 0.002), and girls were not related (β = -0.062, P = 0.679). In addition, maternal serum manganese concentrations showed a U-shaped relationship with the social impairment of 6-year-old children, and this tendency was remarkable in boys. Conclusion: Our study results suggest that exposure to Mn in 6-year old children decreases children’s social impairment, particularly in boys. On the other hand, there was a U-shaped relationship in prenatal exposure to manganese.