Drug use disorder following early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort study
Abstract Background Many studies of adults with occupational exposure to solvents such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE) have shown adverse effects on cognition, mood and behavioral problems. Much less is known about neurotoxic effects in early life at lower exposure levels seen in community settings. We...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Environmental Health |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-020-00638-2 |
| _version_ | 1818872758619078656 |
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| author | Ann Aschengrau Alexandra Grippo Michael R. Winter Margaret G. Shea Roberta F. White Richard Saitz |
| author_facet | Ann Aschengrau Alexandra Grippo Michael R. Winter Margaret G. Shea Roberta F. White Richard Saitz |
| author_sort | Ann Aschengrau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Many studies of adults with occupational exposure to solvents such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE) have shown adverse effects on cognition, mood and behavioral problems. Much less is known about neurotoxic effects in early life at lower exposure levels seen in community settings. We recently reported that illicit drug use was more frequent among adults from Cape Cod, Massachusetts who were exposed to PCE-contaminated drinking water during gestation and early childhood than their unexposed counterparts. Using newly collected data from this population-based retrospective cohort study, the current analysis examines whether early life PCE exposure is also associated with drug use disorder over the life course. Methods Three-hundred and sixty-three subjects with prenatal and early childhood PCE exposure and 255 unexposed subjects were studied. These individuals (median age: 40–41 years) completed self-administered questionnaires on the eleven established diagnostic criteria for drug use disorder and confounding variables. A validated leaching and transport model was used to estimate exposure to PCE-contaminated water. Results Overall, 23.3% of subjects reported having at least one criterion for drug use disorder over their lifetime. Early life PCE exposure was associated with a modest increase in the lifetime presence of one or more diagnostic criteria for drug use disorder (adjusted RR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.0–1.8). Compared to unexposed subjects, PCE-exposed subjects were more likely to report having most diagnostic criteria of drug use disorder, including neglecting major roles due to drug use, physical and psychological problems related to drug use, and giving up activities due to drug use. No dose-response relationships were observed with increasing levels of PCE exposure. Conclusions These results suggest that exposure to PCE-contaminated drinking water during early life modestly increases the risk of developing diagnostic criteria for drug use disorder later in life. Because this study has several limitations, these findings should be confirmed in follow-up investigations of other exposed populations with more diverse racial and socioeconomic characteristics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T12:43:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aa2606cb003e4c978a8f635ff489adda |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1476-069X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T12:43:54Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa2606cb003e4c978a8f635ff489adda2022-12-21T20:20:50ZengBMCEnvironmental Health1476-069X2020-09-0119111210.1186/s12940-020-00638-2Drug use disorder following early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort studyAnn Aschengrau0Alexandra Grippo1Michael R. Winter2Margaret G. Shea3Roberta F. White4Richard Saitz5Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public HealthDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public HealthBiostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public HealthBiostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public HealthDepartment of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public HealthDepartment of Community Health SciencesAbstract Background Many studies of adults with occupational exposure to solvents such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE) have shown adverse effects on cognition, mood and behavioral problems. Much less is known about neurotoxic effects in early life at lower exposure levels seen in community settings. We recently reported that illicit drug use was more frequent among adults from Cape Cod, Massachusetts who were exposed to PCE-contaminated drinking water during gestation and early childhood than their unexposed counterparts. Using newly collected data from this population-based retrospective cohort study, the current analysis examines whether early life PCE exposure is also associated with drug use disorder over the life course. Methods Three-hundred and sixty-three subjects with prenatal and early childhood PCE exposure and 255 unexposed subjects were studied. These individuals (median age: 40–41 years) completed self-administered questionnaires on the eleven established diagnostic criteria for drug use disorder and confounding variables. A validated leaching and transport model was used to estimate exposure to PCE-contaminated water. Results Overall, 23.3% of subjects reported having at least one criterion for drug use disorder over their lifetime. Early life PCE exposure was associated with a modest increase in the lifetime presence of one or more diagnostic criteria for drug use disorder (adjusted RR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.0–1.8). Compared to unexposed subjects, PCE-exposed subjects were more likely to report having most diagnostic criteria of drug use disorder, including neglecting major roles due to drug use, physical and psychological problems related to drug use, and giving up activities due to drug use. No dose-response relationships were observed with increasing levels of PCE exposure. Conclusions These results suggest that exposure to PCE-contaminated drinking water during early life modestly increases the risk of developing diagnostic criteria for drug use disorder later in life. Because this study has several limitations, these findings should be confirmed in follow-up investigations of other exposed populations with more diverse racial and socioeconomic characteristics.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-020-00638-2TetrachloroethyleneDrinking waterDrug useDrug use disorder |
| spellingShingle | Ann Aschengrau Alexandra Grippo Michael R. Winter Margaret G. Shea Roberta F. White Richard Saitz Drug use disorder following early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort study Environmental Health Tetrachloroethylene Drinking water Drug use Drug use disorder |
| title | Drug use disorder following early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort study |
| title_full | Drug use disorder following early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort study |
| title_fullStr | Drug use disorder following early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Drug use disorder following early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort study |
| title_short | Drug use disorder following early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort study |
| title_sort | drug use disorder following early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene pce contaminated drinking water a retrospective cohort study |
| topic | Tetrachloroethylene Drinking water Drug use Drug use disorder |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-020-00638-2 |
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