TY - JOUR
T1 - Placental transfer and concentrations of cadmium, mercury, lead, and selenium in mothers, newborns, and young children
AU - Chen, Zhu
AU - Myers, Robert
AU - Wei, Taiyin
AU - Bind, Eric
AU - Kassim, Prince
AU - Wang, Guoying
AU - Ji, Yuelong
AU - Hong, Xiumei
AU - Caruso, Deanna
AU - Bartell, Tami
AU - Gong, Yiwei
AU - Strickland, Paul
AU - Navas-Acien, Ana
AU - Guallar, Eliseo
AU - Wang, Xiaobin
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank all of the study participants, and the Boston Medical Center Labor and Delivery Nursing Staff for their support and help with the study. We thank Lingling Fu, MS, for data management, and Ann Ramsey for administrative support. We are also grateful for the dedication and hard work of the field team at the Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine. The Boston Birth Cohort (the parent study) is supported in part by the March of Dimes PERI grants (20-FY02-56, 21-FY07-605), the Food Allergy Initiative, the Department of Defense (W81XWH-10-1-0123), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants (R21 ES011666, R01 HD041702, R21HD066471, R21AI088609, U01AI090727).
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - There is an emerging hypothesis that exposure to cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and selenium (Se) in utero and early childhood could have long-term health consequences. However, there are sparse data on early life exposures to these elements in US populations, particularly in urban minority samples. This study measured levels of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se in 50 paired maternal, umbilical cord, and postnatal blood samples from the Boston Birth Cohort (BBC). Maternal exposure to Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se was 100% detectable in red blood cells (RBCs), and there was a high degree of maternal-fetal transfer of Hg, Pb, and Se. In particular, we found that Hg levels in cord RBCs were 1.5 times higher than those found in the mothers. This study also investigated changes in concentrations of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se during the first few years of life. We found decreased levels of Hg and Se but elevated Pb levels in early childhood. Finally, this study investigated the association between metal burden and preterm birth and low birthweight. We found significantly higher levels of Hg in maternal and cord plasma and RBCs in preterm or low birthweight births, compared with term or normal birthweight births. In conclusion, this study showed that maternal exposure to these elements was widespread in the BBC, and maternal-fetal transfer was a major source of early life exposure to Hg, Pb, and Se. Our results also suggest that RBCs are better than plasma at reflecting the trans-placental transfer of Hg, Pb, and Se from the mother to the fetus. Our study findings remain to be confirmed in larger studies, and the implications for early screening and interventions of preconception and pregnant mothers and newborns warrant further investigation.
AB - There is an emerging hypothesis that exposure to cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and selenium (Se) in utero and early childhood could have long-term health consequences. However, there are sparse data on early life exposures to these elements in US populations, particularly in urban minority samples. This study measured levels of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se in 50 paired maternal, umbilical cord, and postnatal blood samples from the Boston Birth Cohort (BBC). Maternal exposure to Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se was 100% detectable in red blood cells (RBCs), and there was a high degree of maternal-fetal transfer of Hg, Pb, and Se. In particular, we found that Hg levels in cord RBCs were 1.5 times higher than those found in the mothers. This study also investigated changes in concentrations of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se during the first few years of life. We found decreased levels of Hg and Se but elevated Pb levels in early childhood. Finally, this study investigated the association between metal burden and preterm birth and low birthweight. We found significantly higher levels of Hg in maternal and cord plasma and RBCs in preterm or low birthweight births, compared with term or normal birthweight births. In conclusion, this study showed that maternal exposure to these elements was widespread in the BBC, and maternal-fetal transfer was a major source of early life exposure to Hg, Pb, and Se. Our results also suggest that RBCs are better than plasma at reflecting the trans-placental transfer of Hg, Pb, and Se from the mother to the fetus. Our study findings remain to be confirmed in larger studies, and the implications for early screening and interventions of preconception and pregnant mothers and newborns warrant further investigation.
KW - cadmium (Cd)
KW - early life exposure
KW - lead (Pb) and selenium (Se)
KW - maternal-fetal transfer
KW - mercury (Hg)
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U2 - 10.1038/jes.2014.26
DO - 10.1038/jes.2014.26
M3 - Article
C2 - 24756102
AN - SCOPUS:84906793851
SN - 1559-0631
VL - 24
SP - 537
EP - 544
JO - Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology
JF - Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology
IS - 5
ER -