Studies about the effects of PCBs on neurodevelopment in children included in this review
| Location | Type of study | Year of start | Study period | Population | Measurement of PCBs exposure | Mean PCBs concentration (biological sample) | Min–max PCBs concentration (biological sample) | Other detected organochlorine compounds | Effect studied | |||||||||
| Japan4 | Prospective | 1968 | 7 years | Children born to poisoned women in Japan in 1968 | Location | 6.0 ppb (exposed children's blood40) | ? | — | Mental, motor, behavioural | |||||||||
| Taiwan5-12 | Matched pair cohort study2-150 | 1985–87 | 6 years | Children born to poisoned women in Taiwan in 1979 and their controls | Questionnaire on location and diet | 0.99 ppb (exposed children's blood)2-152 | 0–77.8 ppb (exposed children's blood) | Polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) | Mental, motor, behavioural | |||||||||
| North Carolina, USA13-16 | Prospective | 1978–82 | 5 years | General community | PCB2-151 and DDE in biological samples | 1.5–2 ppm (colostrum) | 0–>4 ppm (colostrum) | Dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene (p,p'DDE) | Neonatal, mental, motor | |||||||||
| Michigan, USA17-23 | Prospective | 1980–81 | 11 years | Children born to Lake's Michigan fish eater women | PCB2-151 in biological samples/questionnaire on diet | 2.5 ng/ml (cord blood)2-159 | 0–12.3 ng/ml (cord blood) | Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), DDT | Neonatal, mental, behavioural | |||||||||
| Rotterdam-Groningen, the Netherlands24-29 | Prospective | 1990–92 | 4 years | General community | PCB118,138,153,180and PCDDs in biological samples | 0.38 ng/ml (cord blood)2-152 | 0.18–0.86 ng/ml (cord blood)2-153 | PCDFs, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) | Neonatal, mental, motor | |||||||||
| 2.04 ng/ml (maternal plasma)2-152 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Oswego, USA30 31 | Prospective | 1991–94 | 4 years (in course87) | Children born to Lake's Ontario fish eater women | 69 PCB congeners in biological samples/ Questionnaire on diet | 0.52 ng/g wet (cord blood)2-152 | Not reported | Hexachlorobenzene, dieldrin, lindane, chlordane, PCDDs, mirex | Neonatal | |||||||||
| Düsseldorf, Germany32 | Prospective | Not reported | 7 months | General community (middle and upper class families) | PCB138,153,180 in biological samples | 0.55 ng/ml (cord blood) | Not reported | — | Mental, motor | |||||||||