Clear Shot at Better Outcomes? (EHP 2008)

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Clear Shot at Better Outcomes?

Tillett, .

(EHP Oct2008, Vol. 116 Issue 10, pA441-A441)

I remember seeing an article somewhere else (perhaps the

Clear Shot at Better Outcomes?

Closure of Coal-Burning Plants Could Improve Neurodevelopment

Coal burning, which provides up to 75% of China’s electricity, is the

main environmental source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

in that country. Research in Europe, the United States, and Asia

indicates that prenatal exposure to PAHs increases the risk of

reduced fetal growth and adverse neurodevelopmental effects.

Cofirmation for these studies comes in new research in China, which

suggests that reduction of prenatal exposure to PAHs was linked to

improved developmental outcomes in a small group of Chinese children

[EHP116:1396–1400; Perera et al.].

The study took advantage of the opportunity to evaluate health-

related effects of the prescheduled closure of a coal-fired power

plant. Subjects included about 110 children in each of two parallel

mother-infant cohorts in Tongliang, Chongqing Province. The first

(2002) cohort was enrolled two years before the 2004 shutdown of the

power plant; the second (2005) cohort was enrolled the year after the

shutdown.

The infants were followed from birth through their second birthdays,

at which time the investigators assessed the children’s developmental

attainment using the Gesell Developmental Schedules. Using high-

performance liquid chromatography, they analyzed PAH–DNA adduct

levels in cord blood collected at delivery and also measured

potential confounders for neurodevelopmental effects, including lead,

mercury, and second-hand tobacco smoke. The relationships between PAH–

DNA adduct levels and developmental outcomes in the two cohorts were

evaluated through the use of multiple linear regression and logistic

regression, adjusting for potential confounders. Cohort developmental

outcomes, including frequency of developmental delay, also were

compared. The investigators found that the 2005 cohort had 40% lower

PAH–DNA adduct levels in cord blood compared with the 2002 cohort.

Earlier studies of the 2002 cohort showed significant associations

between elevated adduct levels and lower average and motor

development scores; however, these associations were not observed in

the 2005 cohort. The frequency of developmental delay in the motor

area was significantly reduced in the 2005 cohort compared with the

2002 cohort.

The results are limited by the lack of data on postnatal PAH–DNA

adduct levels. However, the authors note that in 2002 the plant was

the major source of PAH emissions in the study area (residential

heating and cooking had been converted to natural gas). Thus, the

results provide molecular epidemiologic evidence that developmental

outcomes in infants were improved after the coal-burning power plant

was shut down - a finding relevant to child development throughout

China as well as other countries relying on coal and other fossil

fuels for energy.