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Early-Life Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Child Language and Communication Development : A Systematic Review

Stübner, Charlotte ; Nielsen, Christel LU orcid ; Jakobsson, Kristina LU ; Gillberg, Christopher and Miniscalco, Carmela (2023) In International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20(24).
Abstract

Language development starts during the fetal period when the brain is sensitive to endocrine disruptions from environmental contaminants. This systematic review aims to systematically summarize the existing literature on early-life exposure to PFAS and children’s language and communication development, which is an indicator of neurocognitive development. A structured literature search was conducted using three databases, PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL, last updated in April 2023. The population was defined as children and young adults. PFAS exposure was assessed pre- or postnatally. The outcome was defined as a language and communication ability assessed with validated instruments, parental self-reports, or clinical language disorder... (More)

Language development starts during the fetal period when the brain is sensitive to endocrine disruptions from environmental contaminants. This systematic review aims to systematically summarize the existing literature on early-life exposure to PFAS and children’s language and communication development, which is an indicator of neurocognitive development. A structured literature search was conducted using three databases, PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL, last updated in April 2023. The population was defined as children and young adults. PFAS exposure was assessed pre- or postnatally. The outcome was defined as a language and communication ability assessed with validated instruments, parental self-reports, or clinical language disorder diagnoses. In total, 15 studies were identified for subsequent analyses. Thirteen were performed in background-exposed populations and two in highly exposed populations. There were some indications of potential adverse effects; however, these were not consistent across child sex, age of assessment, or PFAS exposure levels. No systematic effect of early-life PFAS exposure on language and communication development was found. These inconclusive findings may partly be explained by the use of general test instruments with limited validity as to children’s language and communication development. Further studies over a wider exposure range using specific language test instruments are needed.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
child language development, developmental language disorder, environmental contaminants, perfluoroalkyl substances, postnatal exposure, prenatal exposure
in
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
volume
20
issue
24
article number
7170
pages
20 pages
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • pmid:38131721
  • scopus:85180425424
ISSN
1661-7827
DOI
10.3390/ijerph20247170
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Funding Information: This work is supported by The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE) (grant number 2018-00289) to CM. In-kind support from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Lund University, Sweden. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
id
148c9b9a-0516-41e7-915b-5085beb57a76
date added to LUP
2024-01-08 09:28:51
date last changed
2024-04-23 05:07:35
@article{148c9b9a-0516-41e7-915b-5085beb57a76,
  abstract     = {{<p>Language development starts during the fetal period when the brain is sensitive to endocrine disruptions from environmental contaminants. This systematic review aims to systematically summarize the existing literature on early-life exposure to PFAS and children’s language and communication development, which is an indicator of neurocognitive development. A structured literature search was conducted using three databases, PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL, last updated in April 2023. The population was defined as children and young adults. PFAS exposure was assessed pre- or postnatally. The outcome was defined as a language and communication ability assessed with validated instruments, parental self-reports, or clinical language disorder diagnoses. In total, 15 studies were identified for subsequent analyses. Thirteen were performed in background-exposed populations and two in highly exposed populations. There were some indications of potential adverse effects; however, these were not consistent across child sex, age of assessment, or PFAS exposure levels. No systematic effect of early-life PFAS exposure on language and communication development was found. These inconclusive findings may partly be explained by the use of general test instruments with limited validity as to children’s language and communication development. Further studies over a wider exposure range using specific language test instruments are needed.</p>}},
  author       = {{Stübner, Charlotte and Nielsen, Christel and Jakobsson, Kristina and Gillberg, Christopher and Miniscalco, Carmela}},
  issn         = {{1661-7827}},
  keywords     = {{child language development; developmental language disorder; environmental contaminants; perfluoroalkyl substances; postnatal exposure; prenatal exposure}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{24}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}},
  title        = {{Early-Life Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Child Language and Communication Development : A Systematic Review}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20247170}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/ijerph20247170}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}