Skip Navigation
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document
Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document

Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Hemoglobin, lead exposure, and intelligence quotient: effect modification by the DRD2 Taq IA polymorphism.

Authors: Roy, Ananya; Hu, Howard; Bellinger, David C; Mukherjee, Bhramar; Modali, Rama; Nasaruddin, Khaja; Schwartz, Joel; Wright, Robert O; Ettinger, Adrienne S; Palaniapan, Kavitha; Balakrishnan, Kalpana

Published In Environ Health Perspect, (2011 Jan)

Abstract: Anemia and lead exposure remain significant public health issues in many parts of the world, often occurring together. Animal studies suggest that the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) mediates the effects of both lead and iron on cognition and behavior.We tested the hypothesis that the DRD2 Taq IA polymorphism modifies the effects of lead and hemoglobin on intelligence quotient (IQ) among children.Blood lead and hemoglobin were assessed in 717 children 3-7 years of age attending 12 schools in Chennai, India. IQ was determined using the Binet-Kamat scales of intelligence. Genotyping for the DRD2 polymorphism was carried out using a MassARRAY iPLEX platform. Stratified analyses and interaction models, using generalized estimating equations (GEEs), were used to explore interactions between lead and hemoglobin, and DRD2 Taq IA categories [homozygous variant (A1) vs. presence of wild-type allele (A2)].After we controlled for potential confounders, a one-unit increase in log blood lead was associated with a decrease of 9 IQ points [95% confidence interval (CI), -18.08 to -0.16] in the homozygous-variant children (n = 73) compared with a decrease of 4 IQ points (95% CI, -7.21 to -0.69) among those with the wild-type allele (n = 644). Higher hemoglobin levels were associated with higher IQ in the children who carried the wild-type allele DRD2, but in children homozygous for the variant allele, an increase of 1 g/dL hemoglobin was associated with a decrease in 1.82 points of IQ (95% CI, -5.28 to 1.64; interaction term p-value = 0.02).The results of this study suggest that the DRD2 Taq IA polymorphism disrupts the protective effect of hemoglobin on cognition and may increase the susceptibility to the deficits in IQ due to lead exposure.

PubMed ID: 21205584 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/epidemiology; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/genetics; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/metabolism; Child; Child, Preschool; Cognition/drug effects*; Environmental Exposure/statistics & numerical data; Environmental Pollutants/blood*; Environmental Pollutants/toxicity; Female; Hemoglobins/metabolism*; Humans; India; Intelligence Tests; Lead/blood*; Lead/toxicity; Male; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Receptors, Dopamine D2/genetics*; Receptors, Dopamine D2/metabolism

Back
to Top