Prenatal levels of inorganic agents, thyroid levels and Vitamin D effect childhood development

“Very little existing research addresses the long-term effects on child development of in utero exposure to environmental agents,” said Monica Valentovic, Ph.D., professor of biomedical sciences and toxicology research cluster coordinator at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and corresponding author on the study. “With the original umbilical cord blood samples collected in 2013, having long-term follow-up on developmental outcomes adds significantly to the literature.”

Chelsea Nelson, M.D., Catherine Waldron, Mackenzie Bergeron and Abigail Samson also served as co-authors on the abstract. The work is supported by the Robert C. Byrd Center for Rural Health at Marshall University, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, the translational research pilot grant program at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and a National Institutes of Health grant.

The team continues to investigate development of children beyond age 5 as well as in utero exposure to environmental metals and the impact on development of the newborn or health effects related to vitamin D levels.

Reference:

Jesse Cottrell, Chelsea Nelson, Catherine Waldron, Mackenzie Bergeron, Abigail Samson, Monica Valentovic, Effect of umbilical cord essential and toxic elements, thyroid levels, and Vitamin D on childhood development, Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2022.114085