Environmental influences on child health and development : The role of seafood, acetaminophen and maternal mental health

Avella García, Claudia B.

Environmental influences on child health and development : The role of seafood, acetaminophen and maternal mental health

Document Type

Doctoral thesis
Published Version

Author

Avella García, Claudia B.

Director

Sunyer Deu, Jordi
Júlvez Calvo, Jordi

Publication Date

2016-07-28

Pages

206 p.

Citation

Avella García, C. Environmental influences on child health and development : The role of seafood, acetaminophen and maternal mental health. Universitat Pompeu Fabra; 2016. handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10803/458879

This citation was generated automatically.

Doctoral program

Programa de doctorat en Biomedicina

Abstract

The main aims of this thesis can be divided into three focuses. First: to review the literature on the effect of the intake of seafood during early life on neurodevelopment. Secondly: to evaluate the impact of maternal use of acetaminophen during pregnancy on the neuropsychological development of the offspring and to explore potential epigenetic mechanisms that could contribute to this effect. Third: to examine the relationship between the mental health of the mother and wheezing in the child. Main results: 1) Seafood intake appears to be beneficial for neurodevelopment. 2) Prenatal acetaminophen exposure was associated with a greater number of autism spectrum symptoms in males and to hyperactivity/impulsivity behaviors and changes in attention function in all children. 4) Exposure to acetaminophen during pregnancy was associated with a significant difference in the DNA methylation of a CpG site that corresponds to the OTOP3 gene. 5) Maternal distress at child ages 1-1.5 or 4-5 years could increase the risk of wheezing in the child, especially for wheezing types associated with a greater risk of asthma.
Los objetivos principales de esta tesis se pueden dividir en tres puntos. Primero: revisar la literatura sobre el efecto del consumo de comida de mar durante etapas tempranas de la vida sobre el neurodesarrollo. Segundo: evaluar el impacto del uso materno de paracetamol durante el embarazo sobre el desarrollo neuropsicológico de la progenie y explorar potenciales mecanismos epigenéticos que pudieran contribuir a este efecto. Tercero: examinar la relación entre la salud mental de la madre y las sibilancias en el niño. Resultados principales: 1) El consumo de comida de mar parece ser beneficioso para el neurodesarrollo. 2) La exposición prenatal a paracetamol estaba asociada con un mayor número de síntomas del espectro autista en varones y con conductas de hiperactividad/impulsividad y alteraciones de la función atencional de la progenie. 4) La exposición a paracetamol durante el embarazo estaba asociada a una diferencia significativa de la metilación del ADN a nivel de un sitio CpG correspondiente al gen OTOP3. 5) La presencia de distress materno a la edad de 1-1.5 o 4-5 años del niño puede incrementar el riesgo de sibilancias en el niño, especialmente para tipos de sibilancias que se han asociado a mayor riesgo de asma.