Notario Barandiaran, LeyreDíaz-Coto, SusanaJiménez-Redondo, NuriaGuxens Junyent, MònicaVrijheid, MartineAndiarena, AinaraIrizar, AmaiaRiaño-Galán, IsolinaFernández-Somoano, AnaLlop, SabrinaLozano, ManuelKaragas, Margaret R.Meharg, Andrew A.Carey, ManusMeharg, CarolineRalphs, KathrynMcCreanor, CoalainVioque, JesusMartinez-Camblor, PabloSignes-Pastor, Antonio J.2024-02-162024-02-162023Notario-Barandiaran L, Díaz-Coto S, Jimenez-Redondo N, Guxens M, Vrijheid M, Andiarena A, Irizar A, Riaño-Galan I, Fernández-Somoano A, Llop S, Lozano M, Karagas MR, Meharg A, Carey M, Meharg C, Ralphs K, McCreanor C, Vioque J, MartinezCamblor P, Signes-Pastor AJ. Latent childhood exposure to mixtures of metals and neurodevelopmental outcomes in 4–5-year-old children living in Spain. Expo Health. 2023. DOI: 10.1007/s12403-023-00610-82451-9766http://hdl.handle.net/10230/59118Data de publicació electrònica: 2023-10-31Neurodevelopmental disorders are increasing globally, and metal exposure may play a significant role as an environmental factor. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify metal mixture patterns and assess their impact on children’s neurodevelopment. Data from 962 children (aged 4–5 years) participating in the Spanish INMA cohort study were analysed. Urinary metal concentrations (cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), selenium (Se), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and arsenic speciation) were used as exposure biomarkers. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed four latent exposure variables representing uncorrelated metal mixture patterns. Linear regression analyses examined the associations between these variables and children’s neuropsychological functions assessed through the McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities. The first latent exposure variable (Cu, Se, Pb, Zn) and the second (inorganic arsenic, monomethylarsonic acid) showed negative associations with verbal executive function (ß =  − 1.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) =  − 3.17 to − 0.59) and gross motor function (ß =  − 1.41, 95% CI =  − 2.36 to − 0.46), respectively. Conversely, the third variable (Mo, Co) and the fourth (arsenobetaine) exhibited positive associations with visual and verbal span functions (ß = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.16 to 2.12) and fine motor function (ß = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.11 to 1.92), respectively. This study suggests that even relatively low levels of metal latent exposures, notably inorganic arsenic and a mixture of metals including Pb, adversely affect children’s neuropsychological development function scores, while exposure to arsenobetaine and a mixture of Co and Mo has a positive impact.application/pdfeng© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12403-023-00610-8MixtureHeavy metalsChildren's environmental healthNeurodevelopmental outcomesBiomarkers of exposureNeuropsychological functionsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess