ABSTRACT
Background and objectives: The impact of cesarean and vaginal delivery on cognitive development was analyzed in 5 year old children. Materials and Methods: Two cohorts of 5 year old children born in the years 2013 and 2014 in Karvina (Northern Moravia) and Ceske Budejovice (Southern Bohemia) were studied for their cognitive development related to vaginal (n = 117) and cesarean types of delivery (n = 51). The Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test (BG test) and the Raven Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM test) were used as psychological tests. Results: In the comparison of vaginal delivery vs. cesarean section, the children delivered by cesarean section scored lower and, therefore, achieved poorer performance in cognitive tests compared to those born by vaginal delivery, as shown in the RCPM (p < 0.001) and in the BG test (p < 0.001). When mothers' education level was considered, the children whose mothers achieved a university degree scored higher in both the RCPM test (p < 0.001) and the BG test (p < 0.01) compared to the children of mothers with lower secondary education. When comparing mothers with a university degree to those with higher secondary education, there was a significant correlation between level of education and score achieved in the RCPM test (p < 0.001), but not in the BG test. Conclusions: According to our findings, the mode of delivery seems to have a significant influence on performance in psychological cognitive tests in 5 year old children in favor of those who were born by vaginal delivery. Since cesarean-born children scored notably below vaginally born children, it appears possible that cesarean delivery may have a convincingly adverse effect on children's further cognitive development.
Subject(s)
Cesarean Section , Delivery, Obstetric , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Mothers , Neuropsychological Tests , Pregnancy , Psychological TestsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: To study the impact of oxidative damage associated with particulate matter< 2.5 µm (PM2.5) during prenatal period on the cognitive development in five years old children. METHODS: Two cohorts of children aged five years, born in the years 2013 and 2014, were studied for their cognitive development in the polluted district Karvina and the control district Ceske Budejovice. Exposure to PM2.5 in the ambient air was measured for each mother during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Oxidative damage was determined from the level of biomarkers at delivery in mothers´ and newborns´ urine as 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2´-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and in plasma as 15-F2t-isoprostane levels (15-F2t-IsoP). The Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test (BG test) and the Raven Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM test) were used as psychological cognitive tests. RESULTS: Average concentrations of PM2.5 ± SD in the 3rd trimester of mothers´ pregnancies were 37.7 ± 14.7 µg/m3 and 17.1 ± 4.8 µg/m3 in Karvina and Ceske Budejovice, respectively (p < 0.001). The maternal level of 15-F2t-IsoP in plasma at the time of delivery was significantly associated with the results of the RCPM test (p < 0.05) and the BG test (p < 0.05) in five years old children. CONCLUSIONS: Lipid peroxidation in maternal plasma at the time of delivery has an adverse effect on the results of psychological cognitive tests in five years old children.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants , 8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine , Air Pollutants/adverse effects , Child , Child, Preschool , Cognition , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Oxidative Stress , Particulate Matter/adverse effects , Pregnancy , VitaminsABSTRACT
Objectives: To analyze the impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air at the time of delivery and five years of age on cognitive development in five year old children. Materials and Methods: Two cohorts of children born in the years 2013 and 2014 from Karvina (Northern Moravia, n = 70) and Ceske Budejovice (Southern Bohemia, n = 99) were studied at the age of five 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-PAH (hydroxy-PAH) 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 third trimester of mother's pregnancies were 6.1 ± 4.53 ng/m3 in Karvina, and 1.19 ± 1.28 ng/m3 (p < 0.001) in Ceske Budejovice. Neither the outcome of the RCPM test nor the BG test differed between children in Karvina vs. Ceske Budejovice, or boys vs. girls. Cognitive development in five year old children was affected by the higher exposure to PM2.5 during the third trimester in girls in Karvina. Conclusions: We did not observe any significant effect of prenatal PAH exposure on psychological cognitive tests in five year old children.