Prenatal exposure to acrylamide and neuropsychiatric disorders: a biomarker-based birth cohort study with 34 years of follow-up

Summary: Background: The widespread exposure to acrylamide from diet and tobacco smoke during prenatal development is of concern as acrylamide is neurotoxic and potentially contributes to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. We aimed to examine associations between prenatal acrylamide exposure and neuropsychiatric outcomes.

Methods

In this biomarker-based study of offspring from the Danish Foetal Origins 1988–1989 birth cohort, pregnant women were enrolled at gestational week 30 at a routine antenatal clinic at Aarhus Hospital, Denmark. Liveborn singletons with available exposure and outcome data were included. The current study was conducted from 2022 to 2026. Prenatal acrylamide exposure was quantified using haemoglobin adducts (HbAA) in maternal blood collected during pregnancy. Incident cases of depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), co-occurring ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as a composite outcome, and any neuropsychiatric disorders were identified from national diagnostic and prescription registries in the first 34 years of life (1988–2023). The associations were estimated using adjusted log-linear Poisson regression models.