Funding from the Daphne Jackson Trust, Wellcome and MRC to investigate the effects of low-level exposure to lead, mercury and cadmium exposure on child health and development.

CACH team members: Caroline Taylor, Jean Golding, Alan Emond, Pauline Emmett

PhD student: Kyle Dack (co-supervision by Caroline Taylor with Sarah Lewis and Dheeraj Rai)

We have used data on blood levels of lead, mercury and cadmium collected from pregnant women enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to investigate (1) the effects of diet and lifestyle factors on these levels; and (2) whether the levels have links with measures of child development, including birth outcomes, IQ, pre-school development and motor skills. We’ve found that despite its mercury content, eating fish in pregnancy has positive effects on the baby’s development (perhaps through providing essential nutrients). We’ve also been able to support the recent thinking that lead has damaging effects at all levels, without a lower limit.

This ongoing-work led to the PEAR study funded by the MRC to generate up-to-date data on lead, mercury and arsenic exposures in pregnancy.