Social and environmental determinants of neuropsychological development from birth to preadolescence
Introduction Neuropsychological development is a genetically guided process which is continuously modified by socio-environmental factors. This thesis aimed to study the main socio-environmental determinants of neuropsychological development in different time-periods, such in the first two years of...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2012 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | CBUC, CESCA |
| Repositorio: | TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/96193 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10803/96193 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Neuropsychology Neuropsychological tests Child development Cognition Intelligence Attention Epidemiological studies Cohort studies Environmental exposure Breastfeeding Organochlorine Compounds Polychlorinated Biphenyls Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene 614 |
| Sumario: | Introduction Neuropsychological development is a genetically guided process which is continuously modified by socio-environmental factors. This thesis aimed to study the main socio-environmental determinants of neuropsychological development in different time-periods, such in the first two years of life, during preschool, and during preadolescence. This thesis also aimed to summarize the work done in environmental epidemiology on neuropsychological development in a novel conceptual framework. Methods This thesis is based on the data of the INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente) Project. The main objective of this project is to evaluate the impact of environmental exposures in children’s health in 7 population-based birth cohorts in different regions of Spain. The neuropsychological development of approximate total of 2,650 children was assessed at different time-periods following the same protocols. Results (1) Maternal cognitive capacities were positively related with child cognitive development early in life in more disadvantaged occupational social classes. (2) The levels of child cortisol were not related to child neuropsychological development during the second year of life. (3) Higher levels of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in colostrum due to prolonged periods of breastfeeding improved early neuropsychological development of children, in particular in those children exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy. (4) Prenatal exposure to PCBs (specially for PCB congener 153) impacted negatively on psychomotor development during the second year in life and on general neuropsychological development at the age of 4 years. (5) Postnatal exposure to organochlorine compounds was associated with a delay in reaction time (speed processing) during the preadolescent period. (6) The conceptual framework proposed will improve the quality of research in this area. Conclusions Social and cultural determinants such as maternal intelligence, educational level or occupational social class, are configuring the proximal environment in which a child develops and determine their neuropsychological development. Current levels of some organochlorine compounds, particularly polychlorinated byphenils, measured in blood samples (from umbilical cord, mothers, or children) are impairing on neuropsychological development in the general population. |
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