Determining the Effect of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Exposure on Cognitive Development in 5 Years Old Children: A Case Study in the Czech Republic

Objectives: To analyze the impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air at the time of delivery and 5 years of age on cognitive development in 5 years old children.

Materials and Methods: Two cohorts of children born in the year 2013 and 2014 from Karvina (Northern Moravia, N=70) and Ceske Budejovice (Southern Bohemia, N=99) were studied at the age of 5 years for their cognitive development related to the exposure to PAHs, determined in the ambient air as the concentration of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and OH-PAHs metabolites in urine of the newborns at the time of delivery. As psychological tests the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test (BG test) and the Raven Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM test) were used.

Results: Concentrations of B[a]P in the 3rd trimester of mother´s pregnancies were in Karvina 6.1±4.53 ng/m3, in Ceske Budejovice 1.19±1.28 ng/m3 (p<0.001). Neither the outcome of RCPM test nor BG test differ between children in Karvina vs. Ceske Budejovice, or boys vs. girls. Cognitive development in 5 years old children was affected by the higher exposure to PM2.5 during the third trimester in girls in Karvina.

Conclusions: The rejection rate of part of mothers in our cohorts represents a considerable limitation in our research. We did not observe any significant effect of prenatal PAHs exposure on psychological cognitive tests in 5 years old children.