Maternal and cord serum levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) among Lebanese pregnant women and predictors of exposure

Chemosphere. 2021 Mar:266:129211. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129211. Epub 2020 Dec 5.

Abstract

In this study, the six indicator non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls NDL-PCBs (PCB28, PCB52, PCB101, PCB138, PCB153, PCB180), as well as four organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and dichlorodiphenyldichlorethylene (DDE) were measured in 98 maternal and 49 cord sera samples of a group of Lebanese women who gave birth in three hospitals in Greater Beirut, between March and July 2018. Results showed that the levels of these persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in maternal serum were below critical limits as well as those in other countries (Tunisia, France, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Greenland, Canada, Brazil, and China). The ratios of cord serum concentrations to maternal serum concentrations of analyzed POPs were higher than 1. PCB maternal serum concentrations were found to be linked to illegal incineration (OR = 5.78; p = 0.004) as well as eggs (OR = 4.68; p = 0.027) and fruits and vegetables consumption (OR = 3.92; p = 0.016). OCP concentrations were linked to red meat and cold cuts intake (OR = 3.67-4.59; p = 0.001-0.004). While PCB levels were not correlated to newborns anthropometric measurements, OCP levels in cord serum were found to be positively linked to the birth length of newborns (p = 0.014-0.027).

Keywords: Birth outcomes; Exposure predictors; Human biomonitoring; Persistent organic pollutants (POPs); Pregnant women; Serum.

MeSH terms

  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • China
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Environmental Pollutants* / analysis
  • Female
  • France
  • Greenland
  • Humans
  • Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated* / analysis
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Pesticides* / analysis
  • Poland
  • Polychlorinated Biphenyls* / analysis
  • Portugal
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnant Women
  • Spain
  • Tunisia

Substances

  • Environmental Pollutants
  • Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated
  • Pesticides
  • Polychlorinated Biphenyls