BioMed Central Blog
PCE exposure in early life may affect mental health in later life
Whilst the adverse effects of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and other solvents on mental health are well documented in exposed adults, there are limited data linking early-life exposure to mental health issues later in life. In the present study, published in Environmental Health, Ann Aschengrau and colleagues show that early-life exposure to PCE-contaminated drinking water is associated with a greater risk of developing both bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
From the late 1960s to early 1980, public water companies in the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts, USA, installed vinyl-lined (VL) asbestos-cement (AC) water pipes to help combat alkalinity problems. More than a decade passed before the authorities became aware that PCE was leaching from these pipes into drinking water, with levels of PCE ranging from 1.5 to 7,750 μg/L. Today, the maximum contaminant level for PCE is set at 5 μg/L.
The problem had stemmed from the way the VL/AC pipes were manufactured. The liner was applied by spraying a mixture of vinyl resin and PCE onto the inner pipe surface, and given 48 hours to dry. It was assumed that this would allow sufficient time for the PCE to evaporate. However, large quantities of PCE had remained in the liner of the approximately 660 miles of VL/AC pipes in Massachusetts, and was leaching into public drinking water supplies.
To assess how drinking PCE-contaminated water in early life might have affected the mental health of adults in subsequent years, Aschengrau and colleagues studied a total of 1,512 subjects born between 1969 and 1983, including 831 subjects with both prenatal and early childhood PCE exposure, and 547 unexposed subjects. Questionnaires were used to gather information on mental illnesses, demographic and medical characteristics, other sources of solvent exposure, and residences from birth until 1990. Water distribution system modeling software that incorporated a leaching and transport algorithm was used to quantify PCE exposure originating from VL/AC pipes.
The authors found elevated risks of bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder that increased further for the highest exposures in individuals with early-life exposure to PCE. Conversely, exposed subjects were not at increased risk of developing depression.
Aschengrau emphasizes the importance of replicating these findings in other studies before any firm conclusions can be drawn: “Because this is the first study to examine the risk of bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder following early life exposure to PCE, its results must be corroborated among other similarly exposed populations.”
The same authors also recently published a study in which they found that risky behaviors, especially drug use, are more frequent among adults with high PCE exposure levels during early life. Given that PCE remains a common contaminant of drinking water supplies it is important that further studies are performed to shed more light on the impact of early-life PCE exposure on the health of vulnerable populations.
Posted by Ian Ward at 11:12 Comments (0)