Title: Prenatal Metals Exposure and Child Birth and Growth in Bangladesh.
Authors: Diao, Nancy,; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.; Harvard University
Year: 2015
Abstract: The objective of this dissertation is to contribute to ongoing research on prenatal metals exposure, in terms of arsenic, lead, and manganese, and infant health and growth, and to deepen the understanding of the complexity of such problems. We seek to do so in three parts. First we examine the association between combined prenatal metals exposure and infant birth weight and head circumference. Then, we look at the effect on birth weight from the HFE gene variants and its interaction effects with arsenic. Finally, we look at the association of prenatal metals exposure and child growth up to 36 months. The study populations of all three of our studies are taken from mothers enrolled in 2 hospitals affiliated with Dhaka Community Hospital in Bangladesh. They were given self-administered questionnaires at time of enrollment and are followed after birth. Child measurements were taken at time of birth, and the biomarker for these studies are cord blood metal measurements.