Environmental Contaminants and Infant Development

NCT ID: NCT00013858

Last Updated: 2015-04-14

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 280 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 1997-01-31
• Study Completion Date: 2011-08-31

Brief Summary

This study is designed to examine the effects of prenatal exposure to environmental contaminants on cognitive and behavioral development and physical growth in two groups of Inuit infants-one in Northern Quebec; the other in Greenland.

Detailed Description

Due to prevailing weather patterns and ocean currents, certain environmental contaminants are transported to the Arctic region. The Inuit are among the most heavily exposed populations on earth due to the prevalence of these contaminants in traditional foods that comprise a large portion of their diet. The contaminants assessed in this study include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), methylmercury, selenium, organochlorine pesticides, and lead. These contaminants are measured in umbilical cord blood samples obtained at birth, milk samples obtained from breast-feeding mothers and, in the case of mercury, hair samples obtained from the mothers. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are also assessed in these samples to examine the degree to which these nutrients may protect against adverse effects attributable to these contaminants.

Conditions

Mercury Poisoning; Lead Poisoning

Study Design

• Study Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

infant born during recruitment period to a mother who is a resident of Povungnituk, Inukjuak, and Kuujjuarapik, Quebec or Nuuk, Greenland

• Minimum Eligible Age: 1 Day
• Maximum Eligible Age: 1 Day
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Indian and Northern Affairs, Canada

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Health Canada

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Danish Institute for Public Health

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

NIH

Sponsor Role: lead

Locations

Public Health Centre of Quebec

Beauport, Quebec, Canada

Countries

Canada

References

Dewailly, E., Bruneau, S., Ayotte, P., Liliberte, C., Gingras, S. Belander, D. and Ferron, L. Health status at birth of Inuit newborn prenatally exposed to organochlorines - Chemosphre, 1993, 27: 359-366.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Dewailly E, Ayotte P, Bruneau S, Laliberte C, Muir DC, Norstrom RJ. Inuit exposure to organochlorines through the aquatic food chain in arctic quebec. Environ Health Perspect. 1993 Dec;101(7):618-20. doi: 10.1289/ehp.93101618.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 8143594 (View on PubMed)

Jacobson SW, Fein GG, Jacobson JL, Schwartz PM, Dowler JK. The effect of intrauterine PCB exposure on visual recognition memory. Child Dev. 1985 Aug;56(4):853-60.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 3930167 (View on PubMed)

Jacobson JL, Jacobson SW. Intellectual impairment in children exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls in utero. N Engl J Med. 1996 Sep 12;335(11):783-9. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199609123351104.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 8703183 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

7902-CP-001

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id