Pregnant women and children are especially vulnerable to exposures to food contaminants, and a balanced diet during these periods is critical for optimal nutritional status.
Our objective was to ...study the association between diet and measured blood and urinary levels of environmental contaminants in mother-child pairs from six European birth cohorts (
mothers and 1,288 children).
We assessed the consumption of seven food groups and the blood levels of organochlorine pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and heavy metals and urinary levels of phthalate metabolites, phenolic compounds, and organophosphate pesticide (OP) metabolites. Organic food consumption during childhood was also studied. We applied multivariable linear regressions and targeted maximum likelihood based estimation (TMLE).
Maternal high (
) versus low (
) fish consumption was associated with 15% higher PCBs geometric mean (GM)
; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.29, 42% higher perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnDA) (
; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.68), 89% higher mercury (Hg) (
; 95% CI: 1.47, 2.41) and a 487% increase in arsenic (As) (
; 95% CI: 2.57, 9.23) levels. In children, high (
) versus low (
) fish consumption was associated with 23% higher perfluorononanoate (PFNA) (
; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.40), 36% higher PFUnDA (
; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.64), 37% higher perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) (
; 95% CI: 1.22, 1.54), and
higher Hg and As
(95% CI: 1.91, 4.31) and
(95% CI: 2.23, 3.21) concentrations. Using TMLE analysis, we estimated that fish consumption within the recommended 2-3 times/week resulted in lower PFAS, Hg, and As compared with higher consumption. Fruit consumption was positively associated with OP metabolites. Organic food consumption was negatively associated with OP metabolites.
Fish consumption is related to higher PFAS, Hg, and As exposures. In addition, fruit consumption is a source of exposure to OPs. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5324.
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•A multi-chemical evaluation of 60 breast milk samples was performed.•31 organic contaminants and 14 toxic and essential elements were determined.•Breastfed babies are exposed to a ...mixture of hazardous chemicals.•Maternal features (age, body mass index) and smoking are key exposure factors.•Breast milk from low-income mothers has higher levels of DDT and DDE.
Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival, with several benefits for both the infants and their mothers. However, breast milk can contain environmental pollutants with endocrine disruption capacity, neurotoxicity and/or potential to alter microbiota. Monitoring breast milk provides information on the current chemical exposure of breastfed infants and, in addition, on the current and historical exposure of nursing mothers. In this study, the levels of a wide range of pollutants were measured in breast milk of Spanish nursing mothers. Target chemicals were dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), oxy-chlordane, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) (including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)), chlorpyrifos, bisphenol A (BPA), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), and a number of toxic and essential elements. Traces of most chemicals were found. A correlation between the levels of some persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and maternal characteristics (age and body mass index) was observed, while smoking was associated to higher concentrations of some toxic elements. Higher levels of PCBs were detected in samples from Spanish primiparous mothers compared to non-Spanish multiparous women. Breast milk from low-income mothers showed higher content of DDT and DDE than high-income mothers. Although breastfeeding is clearly beneficial for babies, the exposure to this mixture of hazardous substances, as well as their interaction and combined effects must not be disregarded.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are man-made chemicals that contain at least one perfluoroalkyl moiety, Formula: see text. To date, over 4,000 unique PFASs have been used in technical ...applications and consumer products, and some of them have been detected globally in human and wildlife biomonitoring studies. Because of their extraordinary persistence, human and environmental exposure to PFASs will be a long-term source of concern. Some PFASs such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) have been investigated extensively and thus regulated, but for many other PFASs, knowledge about their current uses and hazards is still very limited or missing entirely. To address this problem and prepare an action plan for the assessment and management of PFASs in the coming years, a group of more than 50 international scientists and regulators held a two-day workshop in November, 2017. The group identified both the respective needs of and common goals shared by the scientific and the policy communities, made recommendations for cooperative actions, and outlined how the science-policy interface regarding PFASs can be strengthened using new approaches for assessing and managing highly persistent chemicals such as PFASs. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4158.
In this study, we estimated human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs), and several emerging flame retardants (EFRs) via inhalation and dust ingestion. ...Sixty indoor stationary air samples, 13 personal air samples, and 60 settled dust samples were collected from a Norwegian cohort during winter 2013. PBDEs showed the highest median concentration in dust (1200 ng/g), followed by EFRs (730 ng/g) and HBCDDs (190 ng/g). The PBDE concentrations in dust were mainly driven by BDE-209 and those of EFRs by bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate. EFRs predominated in stationary air samples, with 2-ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate and 4-(1,2-dibromoethyl)-1,2-dibromocyclohexane having the highest median concentrations (150 and 25 pg/m3 (sum of α- and β-isomers), respectively). Different profiles and concentrations were observed in personal air samples compared to the corresponding stationary air samples. In relation to inhalation exposure, dust ingestion appears to be the major exposure pathway to FRs (median total exposure 230 pg/kg bw/d, accounting for more than 65% of the total exposure) for the Norwegian cohort. The calculated exposure due to air inhalation was substantially lower when the stationary air concentrations were used rather than personal air concentrations (43 pg/kg bw/d versus 130 pg/kg bw/d). This suggests that other exposure situations (such as outdoors or in offices) contributed significantly to the overall personal exposure, which cannot be included by using only a stationary air sampling technique. The median and 95th percentile exposures for all target FRs did not exceed the reference dose.
Objective To examine associations between environmental exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and ovarian hormone concentrations in naturally cycling women. Design E2 and P were measured in ...saliva samples collected daily for a single menstrual cycle and concentrations of PFASs (including perfluoroctane sulfonate PFOS and perfluoroctanoic acid) were measured in serum samples collected during the same cycle. Setting Not applicable. Patient(s) A total of 178 healthy, naturally cycling women, aged 25–35 years. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Mean follicular E2 (cycle days −7 to −1, where 0 is the day of ovulation); mean luteal P (cycle days +2 to 10). Result(s) Among nulliparous, but not parous women, PFOS concentrations were inversely associated with E2 (β = −0.025, 95% CI −0.043, −0.007) and P (β = −0.027, 95% CI −0.048, −0.007). Similar, but weaker results were observed for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. No associations were observed between other PFASs (including perfluoroctanoic acid) and ovarian steroid concentrations, nor were any associations noted in parous women. Conclusion(s) Our results demonstrate that PFOS and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid may be associated with decreased production of E2 and P in reproductive age women. These results suggest a possible mechanism by which PFASs affect women's health, and underscore the importance of parity in research on PFASs and women's reproductive health.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), emerging halogenated flame retardants (EHFRs) and organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) ...were detected in 24h duplicate diet samples from a Norwegian cohort (n=61), with concentrations ranging from <method limit of quantification (MLQ)-0.64ng/g ww, <MLQ-0.70ng/g ww, <MLQ-0.93ng/g ww, <MLQ-0.14ng/g ww, and <MLQ-150ng/g ww, respectively. All studied contaminants were detected in the duplicate diet samples with detection frequencies (DF) ranging from 1.6 to 98%. The major contaminants were CB153 (median 0.042ng/g ww), α-HCH (median 0.22ng/g ww), BDE209 (median 0.45ng/g ww), ethyl hexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPHP) (median 3.0ng/g ww) and bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromo-phthalate (BEH-TEBP) (<MLQ-0.14ng/g ww). Human dietary exposure assessment was conducted for each participant based on individual body weight and contaminant concentrations in their collected duplicate diet samples. The estimated median (95th percentile) dietary exposures for ΣPFR, ΣPCB, ΣOCP, ΣPBDE, and ΣEHFR were 87 (340), 5.8 (27), 11 (31), 1.3 (14), and <0.01 (3.4) ng/kgbw/day, respectively. The median and 95th percentile dietary exposures of most of the target analytes did not exceed the reference dose (RfD), except for PCBs where 16% of the participants exceeded the RfD. However, a relatively short period of such high intake is not expected to result in any adverse health effects. Participants of this cohort were exposed to higher levels of EHDPHP than any other FRs. Fish was the major dietary route for PCB, OCP and PBDE exposure, while meat was the main dietary exposure route for PFRs.
•First survey of EHFRs and PFRs in duplicate diet samples•EHDPHP was frequently detected in food samples at relatively high levels.•Food might be the major pathway for human exposure to EHDPHP.•PCBs and OCPs in the diet were linked to fish, while PFRs were linked to meat.
A sensitive and reliable method based on column switching liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (MS) has been developed for quantification of 19 perfluorinated ...compounds (PFCs) in serum. A volume of only 150
μl serum is used and protein precipitation by methanol is the only sample preparation necessary prior to injection into the column switching system. Pseudo-MRM is used as a detection mode for determination of PFCs, resulting in reduced background noise and considerably increased sensitivity for the perfluorinated alkyl sulfonates and the perfluorinated alkyl sulfonamides. The estimated limits of detection for the method were as low as 0.0020–0.050
ng
PFCs/ml serum. The accuracy determined from spiking experiments, reported as recovery of added amount, was between 85 and 121% in the range 0.20–50
ng
PFC/ml serum, except for perfluorodecylsulfonate for which the accuracy was 146% at 0.20
ng
PFC/ml serum. The low sample volume needed, the limited manual handling and the broad range of analytes which are included, make this method advantageous for large-scale epidemiological studies. This column-switching technique can easily be set up on standard LC–MS/MS instruments and is thus available to a wide range of laboratories.
Several studies have suggested that exposure to organophosphorus (OP) pesticides is detrimental for health, and in particular for children where moderate doses may have a negative impact on the ...neurodevelopment. This study surveys levels of the 6 non-specific urinary metabolites (dialkyl phosphates (DAPs)) of OP pesticides in Norwegian mothers (n=48) and their children (n=54), and examines the diurnal variation in concentrations as well as associations with consumption of specific food products. The highest median concentration measured in urine was found for dimethyl thiophosphate (5.3 and 5.5ng/mLSG; specific gravity corrected) for both children and mothers, respectively, followed by diethyl phosphate (3.8 and 5.3ng/mLSG, respectively). The intra-class correlation coefficients of DAPs among mothers were moderate (0.49–0.68), and consumption of fruit explained between 8% and 55% of the variations in the mothers' and their children's urinary DAP concentrations.
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•Monitoring of organophosphate (OP) pesticides was performed using urine from mother-child pairs.•OP pesticide metabolite median concentrations in urine were higher for mothers than for children.•The diurnal variation in OP pesticide metabolite levels for mothers resulted in 0.49<ICCs<0.68.•Fruit consumption was associated with urinary OP pesticide metabolite levels.•Estimated daily intakes for 3 EU approved pesticides showed no risk for adverse health effects.
Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) comprise a large group of man-made fluorinated chemicals used in a number of consumer products and industrial applications. PFCs have shown to be persistent, ...bio-accumulative and widespread in the environment. Animal studies have demonstrated hepatotoxicity, immunotoxicity, developmental toxicity as well as hormonal effects. We investigated prenatal exposure to several PFCs and detected up to seven different PFCs in 123 paired samples of human maternal and cord blood, from a subcohort of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The maternal and foetal levels were significantly correlated for all PFCs tested with median PFC concentrations in cord blood ranging between 30 and 79% of the maternal concentrations, demonstrating placental passage. The composition of the different PFCs varied between cord and maternal blood, with a higher proportion of shorter chained PFCs together with a higher amount of the branched isomers of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in cord blood. Additionally, the sulfonate group seems to impede transfer efficiency. This indicates a selective placental passage of the different PFCs and hence a specific foetal exposure.
Harmonized data describing simultaneous exposure to a large number of environmental contaminants in-utero and during childhood is currently very limited.
To characterize concentrations of a large ...number of environmental contaminants in pregnant women from Europe and their children, based on chemical analysis of biological samples from mother-child pairs.
We relied on the Early-Life Exposome project, HELIX, a collaborative project across six established population-based birth cohort studies in Europe. In 1301 subjects, biomarkers of exposure to 45 contaminants (i.e. organochlorine compounds, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, toxic and essential elements, phthalate metabolites, environmental phenols, organophosphate pesticide metabolites and cotinine) were measured in biological samples from children (6–12 years) and their mothers during pregnancy, using highly sensitive biomonitoring methods.
Most of the exposure biomarkers had high detection frequencies in mothers (35 out of 45 biomarkers with >90% detected) and children (33 out of 45 biomarkers with >90% detected). Concentrations were significantly different between cohorts for all compounds, and were generally higher in maternal compared to children samples. For most of the persistent compounds the correlations between maternal and child concentrations were moderate to high (Spearman Rho > 0.35), while for most non-persistent compounds correlations were considerably lower (Spearman Rho < 0.15). For mercury, PFOS and PFOA a considerable proportion of the samples of both mothers and their children exceeded the HBM I value established by The Human Biomonitoring Commission of the German Federal Environment Agency.
Although not based on a representative sample, our study suggests that children across Europe are exposed to a wide range of environmental contaminants in fetal life and childhood including many with potential adverse effects. For values exceeding the HBM I value identification of specific sources of exposure and reducing exposure in an adequate way is recommended. Considerable variability in this “chemical exposome” was seen between cohorts, showing that place of residence is a strong determinant of one's personal exposome. This extensive dataset comprising >100,000 concentrations of environmental contaminants in mother-child pairs forms a unique possibility for conducting epidemiological studies using an exposome approach.
•Children across Europe are exposed to a wide range of environmental contaminants.•Considerable variability in the “chemical exposome” was seen between cohorts.•Significant differences in concentrations between mothers and children were found.
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