EFFECTS OF PRENATAL AND POSTNATAL METHYLMERCURY EXPOSURE FROM FISH CONSUMPTION ON NEURODEVELOPMENT - OUTCOMES AT 66 MONTHS OF AGE IN THE SEYCHELLES CHILD-DEVELOPMENT STUDY

Context.-Human neurodevelopmental consequences of exposure to methylme rcury (MeHg) from eating fish remain a question of public health conce rn. Objective.-To study the association between MeHg exposure and the developmental outcomes of children in the Republic of Seychelles at 66 months of age. Design.-A prospective longitudinal cohort study. Parti cipants.-A total of 711 of 779 cohort mother-child pairs initially enr olled in the Seychelles Child Development Study in 1989. Setting.-The Republic of Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean where 85% o f the population consumes ocean fish daily. Main Outcome Measures.-Pre natal and postnatal MeHg exposure and 6 age-appropriate neurodevelopme ntal tests: the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, the Preschool Language Scale, the Woodcock-Johnson Applied Problems and Letter and Word Recognition Tests of Achievement, the Bender Gestalt test, and th e Child Behavior Checklist. Results.-The mean maternal hair total merc ury level was 6.8 ppm and the mean child hair total mercury level at a ge 66 months was 6.5 ppm. No adverse outcomes at 66 months were associ ated with either prenatal or postnatal MeHg exposure. Conclusion,-In t he population studied, consumption of a diet high in ocean fish appear s to pose no threat to developmental outcomes through 66 months of age .