Diet quality and blood lead levels in Uruguayan first graders.

Objective: Foods are a potential source of lead but also contain nutrients that counteract the intestinal absorption of lead. Translatable evidence is needed to better understand the relationship between whole diets and blood lead levels (BLLs) in children. In this cross-sectional study we investigated the association between dietary variety, adequacy, moderation, and overall diet quality with children's BLLs.

Dietary patterns and cognitive achievement among school children in socio-cultural context, a case of Montevideo, Uruguay.

Purpose: The benefits of a healthy diet on children´s cognition have been described in several studies. However, many previous studies have analyzed the effect on general cognitive domains (e.g.

Reducing the complexity of high-dimensional environmental data: An analytical framework using LASSO with considerations of confounding for statistical inference.

Purpose: Frameworks for selecting exposures in high-dimensional environmental datasets, while considering confounding, are lacking. We present a two-step approach for exposure selection with subsequent confounder adjustment for statistical inference.

Methods: We measured cognitive ability in 338 children using the Woodcock-Muñoz General Intellectual Ability (GIA) score, and potential associated features across several environmental domains.

Contribution of household drinking water intake to arsenic and lead exposure among Uruguayan schoolchildren.

Background: Food and water are common exposure sources of arsenic and lead among children. Whereas dietary sources of these toxicants are fairly well-studied, the contribution of drinking water to toxicant exposures is not well characterized in many populations, particularly in the Global South.

Objective: To assess the extent to which consumption of household drinking water contributes to arsenic and lead exposure among Uruguayan schoolchildren with low-level exposure.

Lead exposure and indices of height and weight in Uruguayan urban school children, considering co-exposure to cadmium and arsenic, sex, iron status and dairy intake.

Child growth depends on complex factors including diet, nutritional status, socioeconomic, and sanitary conditions, and exposure to environmental chemicals. Lead exposure is known to impair growth in young children but effects in school-age children are less clear. The effects of co-exposure to low-level lead and other toxic metals on child growth are not well understood.

Associations of dietary intakes and serum levels of folate and vitamin B-12 with methylation of inorganic arsenic in Uruguayan children: Comparison of findings and implications for future research.

Background: In the human body, inorganic arsenic (iAs) is methylated via the one-carbon cycle to form monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). Lower proportions of iAs and MMA, and higher proportions of DMA in urine indicate efficient methylation; formation of DMA is thought to detoxify iAs and MMA. Studies on folate, vitamin B-12 and iAs methylation yield mixed findings, depending on whether folate and vitamin B-12 were assessed from diet, supplements, or using a blood biomarker.

Executive functions in school children from Montevideo, Uruguay and their associations with concurrent low-level arsenic exposure.

Objective: Arsenic is a known childhood neurotoxicant, but its neurotoxicity at low exposure levels is still not well established. The aim of our cross-sectional study was to test the association between low-level arsenic exposure and executive functions (EF) among children in Montevideo. We also assessed effect modification by arsenic methylation capacity, a susceptibility factor for the health effects of arsenic, and by B-vitamin intake, which impacts arsenic methylation.

Vitamin B-6 Intake Is Modestly Associated with Arsenic Methylation in Uruguayan Children with Low-Level Arsenic Exposure.

Background: Detoxification of inorganic arsenic (iAs) occurs when it methylates to form monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). Lower proportions of urinary iAs and MMA, and higher proportions of DMA indicate efficient methylation. The role of B-vitamins in iAs methylation in children with low-level arsenic exposure is understudied.

Low level arsenic exposure, B-vitamins, and achievement among Uruguayan school children.

Objectives: Millions of children globally, including the U.S., are exposed to low levels of arsenic from water and food.

A cross-sectional study of urinary cadmium concentrations in relation to dietary intakes in Uruguayan school children.

Background: Cadmium (Cd) exposure has adverse health effects in children. Diet contributes to Cd exposure, but dietary components could affect body Cd levels.

Objective: To examine associations between diet and urinary Cd (U-Cd) in children.

Association of Low Lead Levels with Behavioral Problems and Executive Function Deficits in Schoolers from Montevideo, Uruguay.

The negative effect of lead exposure on children's intelligence is well-documented. Less is known about the impact of lead on the use of executive functions to self-regulate behavior. We measured blood lead level (BLL) in a sample of first grade children from Montevideo, Uruguay (n = 206, age 6.

Drinking water lead, iron and zinc concentrations as predictors of blood lead levels and urinary lead excretion in school children from Montevideo, Uruguay.

The global burden of water-based lead (Pb) exposure on children is largely unknown; however, the importance of water sources as a path of Pb exposure is receiving increased attention due to recent prominent exposure events related to corroded plumbing infrastructure in the US. This study investigated the contribution of Pb in household drinking and cooking water to Pb levels in blood (PbB) and urine (PbU) within 353 early school-aged children from Montevideo, Uruguay. Additionally, the analysis considered the child's iron status and the water content of iron (WFe) and zinc (WZn) in relation to water Pb and blood/urine Pb concentrations.

Multiple-metal exposure, diet, and oxidative stress in Uruguayan school children.

Oxidative stress (OS) is an important consequence of exposure to toxic metals but it is unclear to what extent low-level metal exposures contribute to OS in children. We examined the cross-sectional association between urinary concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) and urinary markers of OS: F-8α isoprostane and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxy-guanosine (8-OHdG). We also tested effect modification by dietary intakes.

A cross-sectional study of general cognitive abilities among Uruguayan school children with low-level arsenic exposure, potential effect modification by methylation capacity and dietary folate.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the association between low-level arsenic (As) exposure and cognitive performance among children.

Objectives: In this cross-sectional study, we assessed the association between low-level As exposure and cognitive performance among 5-8 year-old children in Montevideo, and tested effect modification by As methylation capacity and children's dietary folate intake.

Methods: We measured total urinary As (UAs) concentrations and the proportion of monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) in the urine of 328 children.

Nutritional status and diet as predictors of children's lead concentrations in blood and urine.

Lead exposure remains an important public health problem. Contaminated foods may act as a source of lead exposure, while certain nutrients may reduce lead absorption. We examined the cross-sectional associations of dietary patterns and the intake of several nutrients and foods with blood (Pb-B) and urinary (Pb-U) lead concentrations in children (5-8y) from Montevideo, Uruguay.

Low-level arsenic exposure: Nutritional and dietary predictors in first-grade Uruguayan children.

Arsenic exposure in children is a public health concern but is understudied in relation to the predictors, and effects of low-level exposure. We examined the extent and dietary predictors of exposure to inorganic arsenic in 5-8 year old children from Montevideo, Uruguay. Children were recruited at school; 357 were enrolled, 328 collected morning urine samples, and 317 had two 24-h dietary recalls.

Association of blood lead levels with urinary F₂-8α isoprostane and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxy-guanosine concentrations in first-grade Uruguayan children.

Oxidative stress (OS) is a potential molecular mechanism for lead-induced toxicities, yet, we have limited understanding of the relation between low-level lead (Pb) exposure and OS, especially in children. This cross-sectional study examines the association between blood lead level (BLL) and two OS markers-urinary F2-8α isoprostane or isoprostane (a marker of lipid peroxidation) and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxy-Guanosine or 8-OH-dG (a marker of DNA damage) in 211 children, aged 5-8 years, from Montevideo, Uruguay. The role of dietary intakes of vitamin C and zinc in modifying the relation between BLL and OS was also examined.