SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2025
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Associated with Early-Life Exposure to Heavy Metals: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Metal Bioavailability in Sediments and Bioaccumulation in Edible Fishes from Caranzalem Beach, Goa, India.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Genetic Polymorphisms as Modifiers of Health Risks from Exposure to Toxic Elements: A Traditional Literature Review.Toxics · 2026Review
- Environmental metal exposure and autism spectrum disorder: spatial analysis of exposure patterns and associated risk among children in Alabama.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2026Article
- A Three-Decade Overview of Cadmium and Lead in Placentas of Postpartum Women: A Review of Evidence from Croatia (1990s-2019).Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Towards learning and memory risk assessment with human brain organoids: barriers and opportunities.Frontiers in toxicology · 2026Review
- Comparative analysis reveals distinct metal and inflammatory cytokine profiles in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with neurological disorders.Frontiers in toxicology · 2026Article
- Exposure to heavy metals and neuropsychological performance in children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Impact of plasma aluminum on neurocognitive outcomes at early school age in children with intestinal failure.Intestinal Failure (New York, N.Y.)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionGlobally, approximately 53 million children under the age of five live with some form of developmental disability. Exposure to heavy metals has been identified in the literature as a contributing factor in the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, however it usually is understudied. Even at low concentrations, these toxicants pose a risk to neurodevelopment, when affecting children early as in the prenatal period. This study aims to systematically review the literature on the associations between exposure to toxic heavy metals and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children.
methodThe review was registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Review-PROSPERO, under number CRD420250653229 and searches were conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, Lilacs and PsycInfo databases.
resultsA total of 68 articles were included, comprising 48 longitudinal studies and 20 cross-sectional studies, published between 2006 and 2025, with a combined sample of 215,195 individuals from 23 countries. Lead was the most consistently investigated metal, appearing in 75% of the studies, followed by mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. Most findings referred to prenatal exposure. Cognitive and motor outcomes were predominantly affected by exposure to Pb and Hg, while behavioral outcomes showed negative associations mainly with Pb and As.
conclusionsThe majority of the studies analyzed indicated adverse effects resulting from exposure to heavy metals during pregnancy, especially in the early months, highlighting the vulnerability of the developing brain.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.