Cross-sectional study of social behaviors in preschool children and exposure to flame retardants

Environmental Health

Research

Molly L. Kile¹  Megan MacDonald¹  Megan M. McClelland¹  Andres Cardenas²  Shannon T. Lipscomb³  Kim A. Anderson⁴ 

[1] College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, 15 Milam Hall, 97331, Corvallis, OR, USA;Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Oregon State University Cascades, Bend, OR, USA;Oregon State University, College of Agricultural Sciences, Corvallis, OR, USA;

关键词: Triphenyl phosphate;    Flame retardants;    Polybrominated diphenyl ethers;    Organophosphate;    Tris;    Children’s health;    Externalizing behavior;    Responsibility;    Assertiveness;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12940-017-0224-6

 received in 2016-11-18, accepted in 2017-02-22,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundChildren are exposed to flame retardants from the built environment. Brominated diphenyl ethers (BDE) and organophosphate-based flame retardants (OPFRs) are associated with poorer neurocognitive functioning in children. Less is known, however, about the association between these classes of compounds and children’s emotional and social behaviors. The objective of this study was to determine if flame retardant exposure was associated with measurable differences in social behaviors among children ages 3–5 years.MethodsWe examined teacher-rated social behaviors measured using the Social Skills Improvement Rating Scale (SSIS) and personal exposure to flame retardants in children aged 3–5 years who attended preschool (n = 72). Silicone passive samplers worn for 7 days were used to assess personal exposure to 41 compounds using gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometer. These concentrations were then summed into total BDE and total OPFR exposure prior to natural log transformation. Separate generalized additive models were used to evaluate the relationship between seven subscales of the SSIS and lnΣBDE or lnΣOPFR adjusting for other age, sex, adverse social experiences, and family context.ResultsAll children were exposed to a mixture of flame retardant compounds. We observed a dose dependent relationship between lnΣOPFR and two subscales where children with higher exposures were rated by their preschool teachers as having less responsible behavior (p = 0.07) and more externalizing behavior problems (p = 0.03). Additionally, children with higher lnΣBDE exposure were rated by teachers as less assertive (p = 0.007).ConclusionsWe observed a cross-sectional association between children’s exposure to flame retardant compounds and teacher-rated social behaviors among preschool-aged children. Children with higher flame retardant exposures exhibited poorer social skills in three domains that play an important role in a child’s ability to succeed academically and socially.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017