Concentrations and determinants of organochlorine levels among pregnant women in Eastern Spain
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) comprise a large variety of toxic substances with ample distribution. While exposure to these toxins occurs mainly through diet, maternal POP levels may be influenced by certain sociodemographic, environmental, or lifestyle factors. This is important given that these substances may have adverse effects on fetal development. The aim of this study is to examine the sociodemographic, environmental, lifestyle, and dietary determinants of the levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), b-hexachlorocyclohexane (b-HCH), 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (4,4′-DDT), 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene (4,4′-DDE), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB co…
Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants and rapid weight gain and overweight in infancy
Objective To examine the effects of prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on rapid growth in the first 6 months of life and overweight at 14 months of age. Design and Methods In a Spanish birth cohort study, the POPs dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs—congeners 153, 138, 180) were measured in maternal serum collected in the first trimester of pregnancy during 2003–2008. Rapid growth was defined as a z-score weight gain >0.67 SD between 6 months of age and birth. Overweight at 14 months was defined as a BMI z-score ≥85th percentile. Generalized linear models examined the association between POPs and rapid g…
Prenatal and postnatal insecticide use and infant neuropsychological development in a multicenter birth cohort study
There is little evidence about exposure to currently used insecticides during early life periods and adverse effects on child neuropsychological development. The aim of this study is to examine the association between residential insecticide use during pregnancy and infancy, and the development of children.Study subjects were participants in the INMA (Environment and Childhood) Project, a Spanish multicenter birth cohort study. Prenatal and postnatal use of indoor insecticides and other variables were obtained from personal interview during pregnancy and infancy. Mental and psychomotor development was assessed around 14 months using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. The associations …
Prenatal Exposure to Polybrominated Flame Retardants and Fetal Growth in the INMA Cohort (Spain)
Our aim was to investigate the relation between PBDEs and fetal growth or newborn anthropometry in a Spanish cohort (2003-2008). PBDE congeners (BDE-47, -99, -153, -154, and -209) were determined in serum of 670 mothers at gestational week 12 and in 534 umbilical cord samples. Abdominal circumference (AC), estimated fetal weight (EFW), femur length (FL), and biparietal diameter (BPD) during gestation were measured by ultrasounds. At birth, weight (BW), head circumference (HC), and length (BL) were also measured. We assessed growth in the intervals between 12-20 and 20-34 weeks of gestation and size at birth by standard deviation (SD)-scores adjusted for constitutional characteristics. We co…
Prenatal exposure to organochlorine compounds and neonatal thyroid stimulating hormone levels
It has been suggested that prenatal exposure to some organochlorine compounds (OCs) may adversely affect thyroid function and may, therefore, impair neurodevelopment. The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship of cord serum levels of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (4,4′-DDT), 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene (4,4′-DDE), β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), four individual polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) congeners (118, 138, 153, and 180), and their sum, with neonatal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in blood samples in a mother–infant cohort in Valencia, Spain. This study included 453 infants born between 2004 and 2006. We mea…
Organochlorine Compounds and Ultrasound Measurements of Fetal Growth in the INMA Cohort (Spain)
This study was funded by grants from the EU (European Union): NEWGENERIS FP6-2003- Food-3-A-016320, FP7-ENV-2011 cod 282957, HEALTH.2010.2.4.5-1; and by grants from Spain: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176, CB06/02/0031, and FIS-FEDER PI03/1615, PI04/1509, PI04/1112, PI04/1931, PI04/2018, PI04/1436, PI05/1079, PI05/1052, PI06/1213, PI07/0314, PI08/1151, PI09/02647, PI09/02311, PI11/01007, PI11/02591, PI11/02038, PI13/1944, PI13/02429, PI14/0891, PI14/1687, and Miguel Servet CP11/00178 and CP13/00054), Conselleria de Sanitat Generalitat Valenciana, Generalitat de Catalunya (CIRIT 1999SGR 00241), Diputación Foral de Guipúzcoa (DFG/004), Departamento de Sanidad y Consumo Gobierno…
Dietary and Household Sources of Prenatal Exposure to Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in the INMA Birth Cohort (Spain)
This study looked at predictors of exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) with a focus on dietary and household-level factors. Concentrations of BDE-47, -99, -153, and -209 and their sum (∑PBDEs) were measured in cord serum. Spanish women (n = 541) completed two semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. The daily mean intake (grams) of eggs, dairy products, meat, cereals and pasta, vegetables and pulses, fruits, shellfish and cephalopods, and fish, and the weekly mean intake (servings) of lean, large oily, other oily, and other fish from both questionnaires were averaged. Information on house size, curtains and carpets at …
Prenatal Exposure to Organochlorine Compounds and Birth Size
Objective: To investigate the possible association between birth size and cord concentrations of some organochlorine compounds (OCs), including 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), 4,4′-1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-dichlorodiphenyl)ethylene (DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH), 4 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners (118, 138, 153, and 180), and their sum (ΣPCBs) in a birth cohort in Valencia, Spain. Study Design: A total of 494 mothers and their newborns (born 2003–2006) participated in the study. Multivariate linear regression analyses were performed between birth weight, length, or head circumference and OC concentrations. Results: Median concentrations of…