A prior post noted the association between PDBE flame retardants and time to pregnancy. Because PDBE's are persistent and bioaccumulative, they have become ubiquitous in the environment.
Animal studies have indicated that prenatal PBDE exposure may result in adverse neurodevelopmental effects. Thus, researchers initiated a longitudinal cohort study following the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001 to evaluate the association between concentrations of individual PBDE congeners and neurodevelopmental indices. Outcomes were evaluated in approximately 100 children with PBDE concentrations measured in cord blood samples.
After adjustment for potential confounders, the researchers concluded that higher concentrations of BDEs 47, 99, or 100 were associated with lower scores on tests of mental and physical development at 12, 48, and 72 months of age. The researchers concluded that developmental exposure to flame retardants following the World Trade Center disaster was associated with altered neurodevelopment of children up to 72 months of age. They also noted the need for additional longitudinal studies to confirm their conclusions.
The report can be found at http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.0901340.