Methods: A total of 555 pregnant women were recruited in Sabadell (Spain) and levels of thyroid h... more Methods: A total of 555 pregnant women were recruited in Sabadell (Spain) and levels of thyroid hormones (free thyroxine (free T4) and total triiodothyronine (total T3)) and thyrotropin (TSH) in serum were measured at first trimester of pregnancy. Those women with thyroid ...
We examined the use of low (<400 μg/day, including... more We examined the use of low (<400 μg/day, including no use) and high folic acid supplement (FAS) dosages (≥1000 μg/day) among pregnant women in Spain, and explored factors associated with the use of these non-recommended dosages. Population-based cohort study. Spain. We analysed data from 2332 pregnant women of the INMA study, a prospective mother-child cohort study in Spain. We assessed usual dietary folate and the use of FAS from preconception to the 3rd month (first period) and from the 4th to the 7th month (second period), using a validated food frequency questionnaire. We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate relative risk ratios (RRRs). Over a half of the women used low dosages of FAS in the first and second period while 29% and 17% took high dosages of FAS, respectively. In the first period, tobacco smoking (RRR=1.63), alcohol intake (RRR=1.40), multiparous (RRR=1.44), unplanned pregnancy (RRR=4.20) and previous spontaneous abortion (RRR=0.58, lower use of high FAS dosages among those with previous abortions) were significantly associated with low FAS dosages. Alcohol consumption (RRR=1.42), unplanned pregnancy (RRR=2.66) and previous spontaneous abortion (RRR=0.68) were associated with high dosage use. In the second period, only tobacco smoking was significantly associated with high FAS dosage use (RRR=0.67). A high proportion of pregnant women did not reach the recommended dosages of FAS in periconception and a considerable proportion also used FAS dosages ≥1000 μg/day. Action should be planned by the Health Care System and health professionals to improve the appropriate periconceptional use of FAS, taking into consideration the associated factors.
Bisphenol A (BPA) may be a neurodevelopmental toxicant, but evidence is not consistent in terms o... more Bisphenol A (BPA) may be a neurodevelopmental toxicant, but evidence is not consistent in terms of the sex-specific patterns of the associations and the specific behavioral or cognitive domains most affected. To examine the effects of prenatal BPA exposure on cognitive, psychomotor, and behavioral development in 438 children at 1, 4 and 7 years of age. BPA was measured in spot urine samples collected in trimester 1 and 3 of pregnancy from women participating in the INMA-Sabadell birth cohort study. Cognitive and psychomotor development was assessed at 1 and 4 years using psychologist-based scales. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and other behavioral problems were assessed at 4 years by teachers and at 7 years by parents using questionnaire-based rating scales. Geometric mean creatinine-adjusted BPA concentration of the averaged samples was 2.6μg/g creatinine. BPA exposure was not associated with the cognitive scores or their subscales at 1 and 4 years of age...
Exposure to traffic noise has been associated with adverse effects on neuropsychological outcomes... more Exposure to traffic noise has been associated with adverse effects on neuropsychological outcomes in children, but findings with regard to behavioral problems are inconsistent. We investigated whether residential road traffic noise exposure is associated with behavioral problems in 7 year old children. We identified 46,940 children from the Danish National Birth Cohort with complete information on behavioral problems at 7 years of age and complete address history from conception to 7 years of age. Road traffic noise (Lden) was modelled at all present and historical addresses. Behavioral problems were assessed by the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Associations between pregnancy and childhood exposure to noise and behavioral problems were analyzed by multinomial or logistic regression and adjusted for potential confounders. A 10 dB increase in average time-weighted road traffic noise exposure from birth to 7 years of age was associated with a 7% increa...
ABSTRACT Methylmercury neurotoxicity has been gradually recorded over several decades. Designs of... more ABSTRACT Methylmercury neurotoxicity has been gradually recorded over several decades. Designs of recent epidemiologic studies have improved to focus their assessments in developmental neurotoxicity. The developing brain, due to rapid physiologic changes and a protective system under development, is particularly vulnerable to the exposure to environmental insults. This chapter aims to systematically review and discuss the state-of-the-art epidemiological studies published up to the present days. We also describe and discuss some of the methodological problems. For example, the uncertainties (confounding) derived from a situation in which an association between an exposure and an outcome is distorted because it is mixed with the effect of a confounding variable. A majority of the studies have demonstrated that methylmercury exposure is neurotoxic to adults and children, but stronger adverse effects would result if negative confounding derived from the nutritional factors of seafood is taken into consideration in the data analyses. The EU and US decision to take preventive measures occurred at a substantial delay following the discovery of these neurotoxic effects.
We aimed to investigate the association of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) sympto... more We aimed to investigate the association of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and social competence outcomes with cognitive status in preschool children. The study population was drawn from three birth cohorts belonging to the Spanish INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente) project: Menorca (n = 289), Ribera d'Ebre (n = 60), and Granada (n = 108). Children were assessed at the age of 4 years for cognitive functions (McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, MSCA) by psychologists and for inattention and hyperactivity symptoms (ADHD Criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, ADHD-DSM-IV) and social competence (California Preschool Social Competence Scale) by their teachers. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine potential associations between behavioral outcomes (ADHD symptoms and social competence) and MSCA cognitive outcomes, adjusting for confounders. The presence of general ADHD symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity, or both) and poorer social competence both showed negative associations with cognitive outcomes. When we compared children according to ADHD subtypes, those with inattention symptoms alone and those with both inattention and hyperactivity symptoms showed significantly lower cognitive function scores in comparison to children with no ADHD symptoms. Behavioral dysfunctions in preschoolers may be associated with impairment of cognitive functions.
Methods: A total of 555 pregnant women were recruited in Sabadell (Spain) and levels of thyroid h... more Methods: A total of 555 pregnant women were recruited in Sabadell (Spain) and levels of thyroid hormones (free thyroxine (free T4) and total triiodothyronine (total T3)) and thyrotropin (TSH) in serum were measured at first trimester of pregnancy. Those women with thyroid ...
We examined the use of low (<400 μg/day, including... more We examined the use of low (<400 μg/day, including no use) and high folic acid supplement (FAS) dosages (≥1000 μg/day) among pregnant women in Spain, and explored factors associated with the use of these non-recommended dosages. Population-based cohort study. Spain. We analysed data from 2332 pregnant women of the INMA study, a prospective mother-child cohort study in Spain. We assessed usual dietary folate and the use of FAS from preconception to the 3rd month (first period) and from the 4th to the 7th month (second period), using a validated food frequency questionnaire. We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate relative risk ratios (RRRs). Over a half of the women used low dosages of FAS in the first and second period while 29% and 17% took high dosages of FAS, respectively. In the first period, tobacco smoking (RRR=1.63), alcohol intake (RRR=1.40), multiparous (RRR=1.44), unplanned pregnancy (RRR=4.20) and previous spontaneous abortion (RRR=0.58, lower use of high FAS dosages among those with previous abortions) were significantly associated with low FAS dosages. Alcohol consumption (RRR=1.42), unplanned pregnancy (RRR=2.66) and previous spontaneous abortion (RRR=0.68) were associated with high dosage use. In the second period, only tobacco smoking was significantly associated with high FAS dosage use (RRR=0.67). A high proportion of pregnant women did not reach the recommended dosages of FAS in periconception and a considerable proportion also used FAS dosages ≥1000 μg/day. Action should be planned by the Health Care System and health professionals to improve the appropriate periconceptional use of FAS, taking into consideration the associated factors.
Bisphenol A (BPA) may be a neurodevelopmental toxicant, but evidence is not consistent in terms o... more Bisphenol A (BPA) may be a neurodevelopmental toxicant, but evidence is not consistent in terms of the sex-specific patterns of the associations and the specific behavioral or cognitive domains most affected. To examine the effects of prenatal BPA exposure on cognitive, psychomotor, and behavioral development in 438 children at 1, 4 and 7 years of age. BPA was measured in spot urine samples collected in trimester 1 and 3 of pregnancy from women participating in the INMA-Sabadell birth cohort study. Cognitive and psychomotor development was assessed at 1 and 4 years using psychologist-based scales. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and other behavioral problems were assessed at 4 years by teachers and at 7 years by parents using questionnaire-based rating scales. Geometric mean creatinine-adjusted BPA concentration of the averaged samples was 2.6μg/g creatinine. BPA exposure was not associated with the cognitive scores or their subscales at 1 and 4 years of age...
Exposure to traffic noise has been associated with adverse effects on neuropsychological outcomes... more Exposure to traffic noise has been associated with adverse effects on neuropsychological outcomes in children, but findings with regard to behavioral problems are inconsistent. We investigated whether residential road traffic noise exposure is associated with behavioral problems in 7 year old children. We identified 46,940 children from the Danish National Birth Cohort with complete information on behavioral problems at 7 years of age and complete address history from conception to 7 years of age. Road traffic noise (Lden) was modelled at all present and historical addresses. Behavioral problems were assessed by the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Associations between pregnancy and childhood exposure to noise and behavioral problems were analyzed by multinomial or logistic regression and adjusted for potential confounders. A 10 dB increase in average time-weighted road traffic noise exposure from birth to 7 years of age was associated with a 7% increa...
ABSTRACT Methylmercury neurotoxicity has been gradually recorded over several decades. Designs of... more ABSTRACT Methylmercury neurotoxicity has been gradually recorded over several decades. Designs of recent epidemiologic studies have improved to focus their assessments in developmental neurotoxicity. The developing brain, due to rapid physiologic changes and a protective system under development, is particularly vulnerable to the exposure to environmental insults. This chapter aims to systematically review and discuss the state-of-the-art epidemiological studies published up to the present days. We also describe and discuss some of the methodological problems. For example, the uncertainties (confounding) derived from a situation in which an association between an exposure and an outcome is distorted because it is mixed with the effect of a confounding variable. A majority of the studies have demonstrated that methylmercury exposure is neurotoxic to adults and children, but stronger adverse effects would result if negative confounding derived from the nutritional factors of seafood is taken into consideration in the data analyses. The EU and US decision to take preventive measures occurred at a substantial delay following the discovery of these neurotoxic effects.
We aimed to investigate the association of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) sympto... more We aimed to investigate the association of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and social competence outcomes with cognitive status in preschool children. The study population was drawn from three birth cohorts belonging to the Spanish INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente) project: Menorca (n = 289), Ribera d'Ebre (n = 60), and Granada (n = 108). Children were assessed at the age of 4 years for cognitive functions (McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, MSCA) by psychologists and for inattention and hyperactivity symptoms (ADHD Criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, ADHD-DSM-IV) and social competence (California Preschool Social Competence Scale) by their teachers. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine potential associations between behavioral outcomes (ADHD symptoms and social competence) and MSCA cognitive outcomes, adjusting for confounders. The presence of general ADHD symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity, or both) and poorer social competence both showed negative associations with cognitive outcomes. When we compared children according to ADHD subtypes, those with inattention symptoms alone and those with both inattention and hyperactivity symptoms showed significantly lower cognitive function scores in comparison to children with no ADHD symptoms. Behavioral dysfunctions in preschoolers may be associated with impairment of cognitive functions.
Uploads
Papers by Jordi Julvez