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News from the SCDS
Winter 2008-2009
Main Study (Adolescent Study)
- Phase I Examination of cohort at age 16 years) Data Analysis Underway. Data from the extensive battery of tests administered during Phase I have all been entered into the Main Study Database and a detailed analysis plan has been developed. Results from the analyses are expected to be available by mid-2009.
- Phase II (examination of cohort at age 19 years) has Begun. Testing began on Phase II in late July, 2008. An extensive battery of tests is being administered including assessments of cognitive and social behaviors as well as auditory information processing ability and autonomic heart functioning. So far, one third of the cohort members have been examined.
- Educational Achievement Study Underway. A supplemental project is underway to evaluate the origins of success in school amongst Main Cohort subjects. School performance measures including year end grades, National Examination scores, International Certificate of General Secondary Education (ICGSE) examination scores, and Southern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SAQMEC) scores have been linked to the SCDS database that contains data on the subjects basic ability dating to early in life. These data have been analyzed and a report should be available by mid-2009. The Ministry of Education is collaborating with us on this project and hopes to use the results to assist with future curriculum design.
First Nutrition Cohort
- Analysis of Evaluations at age 5 years. This phase of the nutrition study is being funded by the European Union under PHIME. (Public Health Impact of Long Term Low Level Mixed Element Exposure in Susceptible Population Strata). PHIME is an umbrella project of mainly European researchers, but also includes the University of Ulster, the Ministry of Health in Seychelles, and the University of Rochester. Results from the 5-year evaluation are expected by the end of 2009.
- The examinations through 30 months found that maternal serum concentration of Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (LCPUFA) may counterbalance adverse effects of prenatal exposure to MeHg. Future studies will seek to confirm this finding. For more information, see our website http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/pediatrics/research/Seychelles/.
- Dental Study involving the First Nutrition Cohort aims to determine the impact of dental amalgams on child development. We have determined their prenatal exposure to inorganic mercury based on the maternal amalgam status in pregnancy and have begun to examine the cohort children for postnatal exposure to inorganic Hg vapor from placement of dental amalgam fillings. A developmental evaluation of this cohort will commence in the autumn of 2009 when the children will be between 7 and 8 years old years.
Second Nutrition Cohort
- Second Nutrition Cohort. The Ministry of Health is currently recruiting pregnant women, with a plan for an eventual cohort of 1,500 mother-child pairs, to pursue the aims of the SCDS. The Seychelles authorities are interested in establishing a firm scientific basis for the determination of public health action on the issue of exposure to methyl mercury from fish consumption. On one hand fish is an important part of the Seychellois diet and a vital source of nutrients and health benefits, and on the other, any potential threat to children’s development is of great concern. In March, 2009, we submitted to NIH a revision of a proposal to renew the SCDS Nutrition Study involving this newly recruited cohort. The review should be completed by June 2009. The Government will continue to support research that examines the impact of mercury exposure and the nutritional factors that influence child development and that, in addition, may modify the impact of mercury. It is hoped that the study will support an evidence-based evaluation of the risks and benefits of the predominantly fish-based Seychellois diet, which will have implications for public health not only in Seychelles, but throughout the world where fish is consumed.
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