616 - Associations of non-nutritive suck and gestational phenol exposure in full-term infants from two US birth cohorts
Sunday, April 30, 2023
3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET
Poster Number: 616 Publication Number: 616.313
Megan L. Woodbury, Northeastern University, Springfield, IL, United States; Emily Zimmerman, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States; Andrea Aguiar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States; Max Aung, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Sarah Geiger, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States; Deborah J. Watkins, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Shukhan Ng, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, United States; Jose F. Cordero, College of Public Health, UGA, Athens, GA, United States; John D. Meeker, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Akram N. Alshawabkeh, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States; Susan Schantz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
Postdoctoral Research Associate Northeastern University Springfield, Illinois, United States
Background: Phenols are endocrine disrupting chemicals found in many consumer products which may impair neurodevelopment. Objective: Examine the relationship between gestational exposure to phenols and non-nutritive suck (NNS), sucking without nutrient delivery (an early indicator of central nervous system integrity), in two diverse populations. Design/Methods: The study involved two prospective birth cohorts in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program: Illinois Kids Development Study (IKIDS, n=69; 80% white, 80% ≥bachelor’s degree, 81% income ≥$50,000/year) and ECHO in Puerto Rico (ECHO-PROTECT, n=148; 46% non-white, 59% ≥bachelor’s degree, 67% income ≤$50,000/year). Phenols were quantified in urine samples collected during pregnancy and adjusted for specific gravity. NNS was sampled in 1-to 8-week-olds using a pacifier attached to a pressure transducer for ~5 minutes. Outcomes included NNS burst amplitude (Cmh20), bursts/minute, and cycles/burst. Associations of 12 phenols with NNS outcomes were assessed using generalized linear models adjusted for child sex and assessment age, maternal age and education, and study site. Bayesian kernel machine regression was also used to assess the potential effects of a mixture of phenols with detection rates ≥75% in both cohorts on NNS outcomes. Results: 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP24) and propylparaben (PPB) were associated with a 0.95 (95%CI:-1.79,-0.11) and 0.61 (95%CI:-1.10,-0.12) decrease in amplitude, respectively. Methylparaben (MPB) was associated with an increase in cycles/burst (β=2.20, 95%CI:0.06,4.34). DCP24, 2,5-dichlorophenol (DCP25), and benzophenone-3 (BP3) were associated with an increase in bursts/minute (DCP24: β=0.31, 95%CI:0.02,0.60; DCP25: β=0.22, 95%CI:0.01,0.42; BP3: β=0.21, 95%CI:0.02,0.41). Seven phenols met the criteria for inclusion in mixtures analysis: DCP24, DCP25, BP3, bisphenol-A, bisphenol-S, MPB, and PPB. The overall mixture effect was strongest for bursts/minute; for example, the 75th percentile of the mixture relative to the 50th percentile was associated with a 0.03 increase (95%CI:-0.26,0.32) in the number of bursts/minute. Posterior inclusion probabilities were highest for DCP24 (0.45), DCP25 (0.39) and BP3 (0.43).
Conclusion(s): Gestational exposure to some phenols may be related to altered NNS patterning in infants. Results indicate NNS measures could allow for earlier detection of neurological deficits due to intrauterine exposure to environmental toxicants. Future work will further explore the effects of the phenol mixture and examine how these NNS changes may be related to later neuropsychological function.
