Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons modifies the effects of early life stress on attention and Thought Problems in late childhood

Background Risk for childhood psychopathology is complex and multifactorial, implicating direct and interacting effects of familial and environmental factors. The role of environmental neurotoxicants in psychiatric risk is of growing concern, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), common in air pollution. Prenatal PAH exposure is linked to adverse physical, behavioral, and cognitive outcomes as well as increasing psychiatric risk. It is unclear whether environmental exposures, like PAH, magnify the effects of exposure to early life stress (ELS), a critical risk factor for psychopathology. The current work aimed to test potential interactions between prenatal PAH exposure and psychosocial/socioeconomic stress on psychiatric symptoms in school‐age children. Methods Data were from the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health Mothers and Newborns longitudinal birth cohort study. Prenatal PAH exposure was ascertained though air monitoring during pregnancy and maternal PAH‐DNA adducts at delivery. Mothers reported on ELS (child age 5) and on child psychiatric symptoms across childhood (child age 5, 7, 9, and 11) using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results Significant prenatal airborne PAH × ELS interactions (FDR‐corrected) predicted CBCL Attention (β = 0.22, t(307) = 3.47, p