Neurodevelopmental Impacts of Maternal Nutritional Status and Mercury Exposure from Fish Consumption during Pregnancy

Abstract

Methylmercury (MeHg) is found in fish and can have hazardous effects, but it also contains minerals that promote healthy brain development and growth. The current study evaluated the hypothesis that specific fish elements or indicators of maternal nutritional status may illustrate relevant confounders when assessing the impacts of prenatal methylmercury exposure on child development. The study was conductedon the Andaman Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean known for its extensive seafood industry. The study used a cohort structure. About 300 expectant mothers signed up for the study. A number of nutrients thought to have an impact in brain development were examined alongside prenatal MeHg exposure. Throughout their first 30 months of life, the children were regularly tested and monitored. There were 229 children whom the information was collected on both outcomes and covariates. Primary outcome measures were 9- and 30-month scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II (BSID-II). At the ages of 5, 9, and 25 months, infants were additionally given a composite of four supplementary tests of their cognitive and memorising abilities. On average, mothers in the cohort ate 537 g of fish each week (that's nine meals). MeHg levels in maternal hair averaged 5.9 ppt throughout pregnancy. The primary study detected a negative relationship among MeHg, maternal nutritional indicators, & children's BSID-II scores, as well as between MeHg & the mean PDI score at 30 months.At 30 months, we found a small but statistically significant connection between MeHg and the PDI. However, we found no correlations between the two. At 5 months of age, one experimental measure was positively connected with iodine status but not with prenatal MeHg exposure. These findings suggest that research examined associations among prenatal MeHg exposures & child developmental outputs may need to account for maternal diet as a confounding variable.