Toxic Environment of war: Maternal prenatal heavy metal load predicts infant emotional development

Infant Behavior & Development
Mervi VänskäPaola Manduca

Abstract

People in war zones are exposed to heavy metal contamination deriving from new-generation weapons, in addition to exposure to psychologically traumatizing war events. Pregnant women and their children-to-be are particularly vulnerable to both biological and psychological war effects. The aim of the current study was to analyse the impact of maternal prenatal heavy metal contamination on infant emotional development and to examine the potential moderating role of maternal symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the association between heavy metal load and infant emotional development. The participants were 502 Palestinian mothers, pregnant in their first trimester during the 2014 War on Gaza. The mothers were recruited at their delivery (T1) and followed at the infants' age of 6-7 months (T2; N = 392). The load of five weapon-related heavy metals (chromium, mercury, vanadium, strontium, and uranium) was analysed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP/MS) from mothers' hair samples at childbirth (T1). Assessment of maternal PTSD symptoms was based on the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and infant emotional development on the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ), both reported by mothers (T2). Two of t...Continue Reading

Citations

Jan 17, 2020·American Journal of Reproductive Immunology : AJRI·Nicole S OlgunStephen S Leonard
Dec 23, 2019·European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry : Official Journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry·R ElzeinF Ayoub
Mar 9, 2021·Pediatric Clinics of North America·Ruth A Etzel
Apr 20, 2021·Environmental Epidemiology·Whitney CowellRosalind J Wright
May 4, 2021·Frontiers in Microbiology·Oliver McNeillyCindy Gunawan
Jun 27, 2021·Environmental Research·Anatoly V SkalnyAlexey A Tinkov

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