The objective of this study was to describe the postnatal exposure to Hg and to evaluate its association with neuropsychological development among preschool children. The study population are 4–5 years old children (n = 1252) participant in the Spanish INMA Project. Total Hg was measured in cord blood and in hair samples taken at 4 years of age (2008–2012). Neuropsychological development was assessed using the McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities (MSCA). Information on covariates and possible confounders was obtained by questionnaires during pregnancy and childhood. Generalized additive and linear regression models were built in order to assess the relationship between MSCA scores and Hg exposure. We also evaluated the magnitude of the possible bias generated from measurement error in seafood intake estimate from questionnaire and Hg determination. The geometric mean of hair Hg was 0.98 µg/g [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.94, 1.03]. In the regression analysis, the association between Hg and the MSCA scores was positive for all the scales and statistically significant for the verbal (β = 0.89; 95%CI 0.38, 1.39), memory (β = 0.42; 95%CI 0.09, 0.76) and general cognitive scales (β = 1.35; 95%CI 0.45, 2.25). However, these associations were clearly attenuated when we adjusted by the children’s fish intake variables or when took into account theoretical scenarios of low precision in fish intake and Hg measurements. Hg levels in this Spanish population were high in comparison with other European countries; however, we did not observe adverse effects on child neuropsychological development associated with this postnatal exposure to Hg.

这项研究的目的是描述产后接触汞的情况，并评估其与学龄前儿童神经心理发育的关系。研究人群为西班牙INMA项目的4-5岁儿童（n = 1252）。在4岁（2008-2012年）采集的脐带血和头发样本中测量了总Hg。使用麦卡锡儿童能力量表（MSCA）评估神经心理学的发展。有关协变量和可能混杂因素的信息是在怀孕和儿童时期通过问卷调查获得的。建立了通用的加性和线性回归模型，以评估MSCA得分与汞暴露之间的关系。我们还评估了通过问卷调查和汞测定得出的海鲜摄入量估算中的测量误差所产生的可能偏差的大小。头发Hg的几何平均值为0.98 µg / g [95％置信区间（CI）0.94，1.03]。在回归分析中，Hg与MSCA得分之间的关​​联在所有量表上均为正，对言语（β= 0.89; 95％CI 0.38，1.39），记忆力（β= 0.42; 95％CI 0.09，0.76）具有统计学意义。 ）和一般认知量表（β= 1.35； 95％CI 0.45，2.25）。但是，当我们通过儿童的鱼的摄入量变量进行调整，或者考虑到鱼的摄入量和汞含量测量的精度较低的理论情况时，这些关联显然会减弱。与其他欧洲国家相比，西班牙人口中的汞含量较高；然而，