Peer-reviewed article
2110 Prenatal near roadway air pollution exposure and early neurodevelopment in young Mexican-American children: Findings from the CHAMACOS prospective birth cohort study
Coe W, Feinberg J, Grunier R, Eskenazi B, Volk H ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001The CHAMACOS study examined whether prenatal exposure to air pollution near roads affects early brain development in Mexican-American children. Researchers tracked over 600 mother-child pairs from pregnancy onwards, measuring air pollution exposure and assessing children's cognitive and motor development at 6, 12, and 24 months old. The study found no significant associations between prenatal near-roadway air pollution exposure and early neurodevelopment, though the findings are preliminary.
Key points
- 605 mother-child pairs of primarily Mexican-American descent enrolled in a prospective birth cohort study that began in 1999
- Prenatal near-roadway air pollution exposure was modeled using the CALINE4 dispersion model based on geocoded maternal residence during pregnancy
- Cognitive and motor development was assessed using Bayley Scale composite scores at 6, 12, and 24 months of age
- No statistically significant associations were found between prenatal NRAP exposure and cognitive or motor development at any age tested
- Authors note that co-exposures known to affect neurodevelopment in rural populations should be examined in future analyses
Limitations
The findings are preliminary and rely on modeled air pollution exposure rather than direct measurement. The study cannot determine causation or identify which specific components of near-roadway air pollution might affect development, and the rural population limits generalizability.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Previous studies suggest that prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants can have an adverse effect on brain development. We examine the association between prenatal near roadway air pollution (NRAP) exposure and early neurodevelopment. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) Study is a prospective birth cohort that began in 1999 with 605 mother-child pairs of primarily Mexican-American descent. Maternal residence during pregnancy was geocoded using ArcGIS and prenatal NRAP exposure was assigned using the CALINE4 line source dispersion model. We used composite Bayley Scale scores for cognitive and motor development, and created separate linear regression models at 6, 12, and 24 months of age. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: After adjusting for relevant maternal and child characteristics, preliminary estimates suggest that prenatal NRAP exposure is associated with a nonsignificant increase in Bayley Scale scores at 6 and 24 months (cognitive: β=0.13, p-value=0.20 and motor: β=0.08, p-value=0.58 at 6 months; cognitive: β=0.16, p-value=0.42 and motor: β=0.20, p-value=0.25 at 24 months) and a nonsignificant decrease at 12 months (cognitive: β=−0.07, p-value=0.64 and motor: β=−0.12, p-value=0.56). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Our preliminary findings do not suggest that prenatal NRAP exposure is associated with early cognitive development. Additional exploration of co-exposures known to effect neurodevelopment should be examined in this rural population.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Measurement and assessment of prenatal near-roadway air pollution exposure using geocoded residence data and CALINE4 dispersion modeling, with assessment of child neurodevelopment at 6, 12, and 24 months
- Population
- 605 mother-child pairs of primarily Mexican-American descent in a rural area (Salinas, California)
Key finding
Prenatal NRAP exposure showed a nonsignificant increase in Bayley cognitive scores at 6 months (β=0.13, p=0.20)