Grant Number:
Principal Investigator:
Mazumdar, Maitreyi
Institution:
Children's Hospital Boston
Most Recent Award Year:
2009
Lifestage of Participants:
Exposure:
Prenatal; Infant (0-1 year); Youth (1-18 years); Adulthood (mother)
Assessment:
Infant (0-1 year); Youth (1-18 years)
Exposures:
Metals:
Arsenic
Health Outcomes:
Birth Outcomes:
Congenital microcephaly
Neurological/Cognitive Outcomes:
Neurodevelopmental outcomes
Biological Sample:
Blood; Cord blood; Fingernails/toenails (mother, child); Hair (mother, child)
Environmental Sample:
Drinking water sample
Other Participant Data:
Measures of neurological development including head circumference, hearing impairment, motor dysfunction, and formal neurocognitive testing
Genes or Other DNA Products Studied:
GWAS on cord blood
Abstract:
Dr. Maitreyi Mazumdar is Assistant In Neurology at Children's Hospital Boston and Instructor In Neurology at Harvard Medical School. The candidate's long-term goal is to develop an Independent research career focusing on the role of environmental contaminants in the development of neurological Injury and disease In children. Dr. Mazumdar's Interests in this field developed during her Fellowship in neurodevelopmental toxicology, when she became aware of Investigations of the effects of environmental arsenic exposure on children in Bangladesh. The proposed career development plan incorporates a multi-disciplinary program designed to provide an Intense, closely mentored, patient-oriented research experience, associated with a comprehensively structured didactic curriculum In environmental epidemiology, exposure assessment, advanced biostatistics, and risk assessment. Under the mentorship of Dr. David Christiani, Professor of Environmental Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, the candidate will investigate the effect of prenatal and early childhood arsenic exposure on neurodevelopment of children In Bangladesh, a country with high levels of arsenic contamination In groundwater. This research will examine epidemiological associations of arsenic exposure with measures of neurological development In infants and children, including 1) head circumference, 2) hearing impairment, 3) motor dysfunction, and 4) formal neurocognitive testing. The studies will be conducted in a cohort of 600 infants who are participating In a current study of reproductive health effects of arsenic. Additional children between the ages of 12 and 24 months will also be recruited neurodevelopmental assessment. The superb clinical, research, and teaching facilities of Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard School of Public Health will support Dr. Mazumdar in meeting the objectives of her career development and research plans. RELEVANCE (See instructions): Studies have linked chronic exposure to arsenic with adverse health outcomes in adults, but its effect on children is unknown. The proposed work will examine the neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal and early- life arsenic exposure on Infants and young children in Bangladesh, an area with extremely high groundwater arsenic concentrations. Findings from this work will directly inform ongoing environmental risk assessment.
ExpandCollapse Abstract
Related NIEHS-Funded Study Populations
Children with In Utero Arsenic Exposure: Bangladesh
Principal Investigator:
Christiani, David
| Study Population Page Study Population c34
Institution:
Harvard University
Location:
Bangladesh
Number of Participants::
1,613 Pregnant women and 1,189 Mother-infant pairs
Brief Description::
This is a prospective birth cohort study in Bangladesh examining the impact of chronic arsenic exposure on birth, neurodevelopmental, and respiratory outcomes. A total of 1,613 pregnant mothers were recruited from Sirajdikhan and Pabna Sadar Upazilas Districts of Bangladesh from 2008-2011. Women were eligible to participate if they were 18 years or older with an ultrasound confirmed singleton pregnancy of ≤16 weeks gestation, used a tube well as their primary source of drinking water and had been using the same drinking water source for at least six months, and intended to live in her current residence throughout pregnancy. At the end of follow-up, 1,189 livebirths, 259 preterm births, 72 stillbirths, and 132 miscarriages were recorded. The neurodevelopment study involves continued follow-up of 812 children.