Neurodevelopment for first 3 years following prenatal mobile phone use, RF radiation & lead exposure

2017 · Mixed · Moderate evidence

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MixedModerate evidencePaper 2261

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2017

Study typecohort

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingModerate

Abstract

Neurodevelopment for first 3 years following prenatal mobile phone use, RF radiation & lead exposure Kyung-Hwa Choi, Mina Ha, Eun-Hee Ha, Hyesook Park, Yangho Kim, Yun-Chul Hong, Ae-Kyoung Lee, Jong Hwa Kwon, Hyung-Do Choi, Nam Kim, Suejin Kim, Choonghee Park. Neurodevelopment for the first three years following prenatal mobile phone use, radio frequency radiation and lead exposure. Environmental Research, 156:810-817, July 2017. Highlights • RFR exposure was measured by mobile phone use questionnaire and 24-h personal exposure meter among pregnant women. • Child neurodevelopment was assessed by trained examiners at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months of age. • Associations were not observed between prenatal exposure to RFR and child neurodevelopment during the first three years. • A potential combined effect of prenatal exposure to lead and mobile phone use was suggested. Abstract Background Studies examining prenatal exposure to mobile phone use and its effect on child neurodevelopment show different results, according to child's developmental stages. Objectives To examine neurodevelopment in children up to 36 months of age, following prenatal mobile phone use and radiofrequency radiation (RFR) exposure, in relation to prenatal lead exposure. Methods We analyzed 1198 mother-child pairs from a prospective cohort study (the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health Study). Questionnaires were provided to pregnant women at ≤20 weeks of gestation to assess mobile phone call frequency and duration. A personal exposure meter (PEM) was used to measure RFR exposure for 24 h in 210 pregnant women. Maternal blood lead level (BLL) was measured during pregnancy. Child neurodevelopment was assessed using the Korean version of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development- Revised at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months of age. Logistic regression analysis applied to groups classified by trajectory analysis showing neurodevelopmental patterns over time. Results The psychomotor development index (PDI) and the mental development index (MDI) at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months of age were not significantly associated with maternal mobile phone use during pregnancy. However, among children exposed to high maternal BLL in utero, there was a significantly increased risk of having a low PDI up to 36 months of age, in relation to an increasing average calling time (p-trend=0.008). There was also a risk of having decreasing MDI up to 36 months of age, in relation to an increasing average calling time or frequency during pregnancy (p-trend=0.05 and 0.007 for time and frequency, respectively). There was no significant association between child neurodevelopment and prenatal RFR exposure measured by PEM in all subjects or in groups stratified by maternal BLL during pregnancy. Conclusions We found no association between prenatal exposure to RFR and child neurodevelopment during the first three years of life; however, a potential combined effect of prenatal exposure to lead and mobile phone use was suggested. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typecohort

Effect directionmixed

PopulationPregnant women and their children (mother-child pairs) from the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health Study (Korea)

Sample size1198

ExposureRF · Prenatal; questionnaire at ≤20 weeks gestation for call frequency/duration; 24-h personal exposure meter in a subset

Evidence strengthModerateConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In 1198 mother-child pairs, PDI and MDI at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months were not significantly associated with maternal mobile phone use during pregnancy. No significant association was found between child neurodevelopment and prenatal RF exposure measured by a 24-h personal exposure meter (overall or stratified by maternal blood lead level). Among children with high prenatal maternal blood lead levels, increasing maternal average calling time (and for MDI also calling frequency) was associated with increased risk of low PDI and decreasing MDI trajectories up to 36 months.

Outcomes measured

Child neurodevelopment (Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Revised; Korean version): Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) and Mental Development Index (MDI) at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months
Risk of low PDI trajectory up to 36 months
Risk of decreasing MDI trajectory up to 36 months

Limitations

Mobile phone use assessed by questionnaire (call frequency/duration)
Personal exposure meter RF measurement conducted only in a subset (210 pregnant women)
Potential combined effect observed only in subgroup with high maternal blood lead level

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "cohort",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "Prenatal; questionnaire at ≤20 weeks gestation for call frequency/duration; 24-h personal exposure meter in a subset"
  },
  "population": "Pregnant women and their children (mother-child pairs) from the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health Study (Korea)",
  "sample_size": 1198,
  "outcomes": [
    "Child neurodevelopment (Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Revised; Korean version): Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) and Mental Development Index (MDI) at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months",
    "Risk of low PDI trajectory up to 36 months",
    "Risk of decreasing MDI trajectory up to 36 months"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In 1198 mother-child pairs, PDI and MDI at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months were not significantly associated with maternal mobile phone use during pregnancy. No significant association was found between child neurodevelopment and prenatal RF exposure measured by a 24-h personal exposure meter (overall or stratified by maternal blood lead level). Among children with high prenatal maternal blood lead levels, increasing maternal average calling time (and for MDI also calling frequency) was associated with increased risk of low PDI and decreasing MDI trajectories up to 36 months.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Mobile phone use assessed by questionnaire (call frequency/duration)",
    "Personal exposure meter RF measurement conducted only in a subset (210 pregnant women)",
    "Potential combined effect observed only in subgroup with high maternal blood lead level"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "moderate",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "prenatal exposure",
    "mobile phone use",
    "radiofrequency radiation",
    "personal exposure meter",
    "blood lead level",
    "neurodevelopment",
    "Bayley Scales",
    "PDI",
    "MDI",
    "prospective cohort"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "lead-coexposure",
      "weight": 0.72,
      "reason": "Study explicitly evaluates combined effects of prenatal lead exposure and mobile phone use/RF exposure on neurodevelopment."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

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