Exposure to bisphenol A during maternal pregnancy and the emotional and behavioral impact on their preschool children / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To explore the long-term effects of maternal pregnancy bisphenol A (BPA) exposure on emotional and behavioral problems appeared in their preschool children. Methods: The study sample was a subset of the China-Anhui Birth Cohort Study (C-ABCS). A unified questionnaire was used to collect basic information on both pregnant women and their children. Free BPA concentration in maternal serum was determined by high-performance liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The parent-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to estimate the emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children. A total of 1 713 pairs of mothers and children were included in this study. Association between BPA exposure during pregnancy and the emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children was evaluated with multinomial logistic regression model. Results: Prevalence rates in 1 713 preschool children appeared as: 6.48% of emotional problems, 8.11% for conduct problems, 8.35% for hyperactivity/inattention, 2.86% for peer problems, 11.38% for prosocial behaviors and 7.94% for total difficulties. Subjects were divided according to the degrees of exposure and the results showed as: low exposure group (≤0.120 ng/ml), medium exposure group (0.120<BPA<0.400 ng/ml) and high exposure group (≥0.400 ng/ml) according to the serum BPA concentration in tertile. Results from the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that high level of maternal BPA exposure appeared a risk factor on children's abnormal conducts (OR=1.876, 95% CI: 1.161-3.029), more obvious in boys (OR=2.291, 95%CI: 1.126-4.661). Conclusion: Maternal exposure to high level of BPA during pregnancy might increase the detrimental effects of abnormal conducts in their preschool children, more obviously seen in boys.

Associations of obesity and physical activity with cognition in people aged 50 and above in Shanghai / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the associations of obesity and physical activity with cognition in the elderly. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2009 to June 2010 among people aged ≥50 years selected through multistage random cluster sampling in Shanghai. The subjects' body weight, body height, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR), and the data on self-reported physical activity level were collected through questionnaire survey. A comprehensive battery of cognitive tests was conducted to assess subjects' cognitive functions, including verbal recall, forward digit span (FDS), backward digit span (BDS), and verbal fluency (VF). General linear model was used to examine the associations of BMI, WHR and physical activity with cognition. Results: A total of 7 913 participants were included, with a median age of 60 years. Age, sex, education level, income level, BMI, WHR and physical activity level were significantly associated with cognitive scores in univariate analysis. After adjusted for age, sex, education level and income level, BMI was no longer significantly associated with cognitive scores in all cognitive functions (all P>0.01). WHR was significantly associated with VF score (P<0.01). Abdominally obese participants had lower VF score than non-abdominally obese participants (P<0.01). Physical activity level was significantly associated with all cognitive functions (P<0.01). Compared with participants with moderate physical activity level, participants with low physical activity level had lower scores in all cognitive functions (P<0.01). Conclusion: Abdominal obesity and low physical activity level were negatively associated with cognition level in the elderly, suggesting that waist circumference control and physical activity might help maintain cognition in the elderly.