Dataset Information

Prenatal Arsenic Exposure and Birth Outcomes among a Population Residing near a Mining-Related Superfund Site.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Limited epidemiologic data exist on prenatal arsenic exposure and fetal growth, particularly in the context of co-exposure to other toxic metals.

Objective

We examined whether prenatal arsenic exposure predicts birth outcomes among a rural U.S. population, while adjusting for exposure to lead and manganese.

Methods

We collected maternal and umbilical cord blood samples at delivery from 622 mother-infant pairs residing near a mining-related Superfund site in Northeast Oklahoma. Whole blood arsenic, lead, and manganese were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We modeled associations between arsenic concentrations and birth weight, gestational age, head circumference, and birth weight for gestational age.

Results

Median (25th-75th percentile) maternal and umbilical cord blood metal concentrations, respectively, were as follows: arsenic, 1.4 (1.0-2.3) and 2.4 (1.8-3.3) ?g/L; lead, 0.6 (0.4-0.9) and 0.4 (0.3-0.6) ?g/dL; manganese, 22.7 (18.8-29.3) and 41.7 (32.2-50.4) ?g/L. We estimated negative associations between maternal blood arsenic concentrations and birth outcomes. In multivariable regression models adjusted for lead and manganese, an interquartile range increase in maternal blood arsenic was associated with -77.5 g (95% CI: -127.8, -27.3) birth weight, -0.13 weeks (95% CI: -0.27, 0.01) gestation, -0.22 cm (95% CI: -0.42, -0.03) head circumference, and -0.14 (95% CI: -0.24, -0.04) birth weight for gestational age z-score units. Interactions between arsenic concentrations and lead or manganese were not statistically significant.

Conclusions

In a population with environmental exposure levels similar to the U.S. general population, maternal blood arsenic was negatively associated with fetal growth. Given the potential for relatively common fetal and early childhood arsenic exposures, our finding that prenatal arsenic can adversely affect birth outcomes is of considerable public health importance.

Citation

Claus Henn B, Ettinger AS, Hopkins MR, Jim R, Amarasiriwardena C, Christiani DC, Coull BA, Bellinger DC, Wright RO. 2016. Prenatal arsenic exposure and birth outcomes among a population residing near a mining-related Superfund site. Environ Health Perspect 124:1308-1315;?http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510070.

SUBMITTER: Claus Henn B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4977047 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Prenatal Arsenic Exposure and Birth Outcomes among a Population Residing near a Mining-Related Superfund Site.

Claus Henn Birgit B Ettinger Adrienne S AS Hopkins Marianne R MR Jim Rebecca R Amarasiriwardena Chitra C Christiani David C DC Coull Brent A BA Bellinger David C DC Wright Robert O RO

Environmental health perspectives 20160209 8

<h4>Background</h4>Limited epidemiologic data exist on prenatal arsenic exposure and fetal growth, particularly in the context of co-exposure to other toxic metals.<h4>Objective</h4>We examined whether prenatal arsenic exposure predicts birth outcomes among a rural U.S. population, while adjusting for exposure to lead and manganese.<h4>Methods</h4>We collected maternal and umbilical cord blood samples at delivery from 622 mother-infant pairs residing near a mining-related Superfund site in North ...[more]

PMID: 26859631

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Project description:BackgroundEnvironmental manganese exposure has been associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes among school-aged children; yet, few studies have evaluated prenatal exposure.ObjectivesOur study examines associations between prenatal manganese concentrations and placental transfer of manganese with neurodevelopment in 224 2-y-old children residing near the Tar Creek Superfund Site.MethodsWe collected maternal and cord blood at delivery, measured manganese using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and assessed neurodevelopment using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II. Associations between manganese and mental (MDI) and psychomotor (PDI) development indices were estimated in multivariable models. Placental transfer, approximated by cord/maternal manganese ratio, cord/total manganese ratio (total=maternal+cord), and by joint classification according to high or low (above or below median) maternal and cord manganese, was evaluated as a predictor of neurodevelopment.ResultsMedian levels [interquartile ranges (IQR)] of manganese in maternal and cord blood, respectively, were 24.0?(19.5-29.7) and 43.1 (33.5-52.1) ?g/L. Adjusting for lead, arsenic, and other potential confounders, an IQR increase in maternal manganese was associated with -3.0 (95% CI: -5.3, -0.7) points on MDI and -2.3 (95% CI: -4.1, -0.4) points on PDI. Cord manganese concentrations were not associated with neurodevelopment scores. Cord/maternal and cord/total manganese ratios were positively associated with MDI [cord/maternal: ?=2.6?(95%?Cl:??0.04,?5.3); cord/total: ?=22.0?(95%?Cl:?3.2,?40.7)] and PDI (cord/maternal: ?=1.7?(95%?Cl:??0.5,?3.9); cord/total: ?=15.6?(95%?Cl:?0.3,?20.9)). Compared to mother-child pairs with low maternal and cord manganese, associations with neurodevelopment scores were negative for pairs with either high maternal, high cord, or high maternal and cord manganese.ConclusionsMaternal blood manganese concentrations were negatively associated with early childhood neurodevelopment scores in our study. Findings highlight the importance of understanding maternal exposures during pregnancy and factors influencing placental transfer. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP925.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Chronic arsenic exposure has been associated with pregnancy complications and reduced fetal growth in populations where total arsenic exposure exceeds 50 μg/L. However, the potential effect on pregnancy outcomes remains unclear at lower levels of arsenic exposure, such as those most commonly observed in the United States. OBJECTIVES:We evaluated the associations between arsenic exposure during pregnancy with fetal growth and risk of pregnancy complications using data from mother-infant pairs participating in the National Children's Study. METHODS:Prenatal arsenic exposure was measured using maternal urine collected during the third trimester. Information about pregnancy complications was abstracted from medical records. Fetal growth, including gestational age, birth weight, birth length, head circumference, and ponderal index, was ascertained through physical measurement at birth and extracted from medical records. RESULTS:Medians [interquartile range (IQR)] of maternal urinary total arsenic and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) were 7.77 μg/L (7.98) and 3.44 μg/L (3.13), respectively. Each increase in IQR of prenatal total arsenic level was associated with greater birth length (+0.28 cm; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.42), greater head circumference (+0.12 cm; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.21), and lower ponderal index (-0.37 kg/m3; 95% CI: -0.58, -0.17). Similar results were obtained for levels of prenatal DMA. Tests for multiplicative interaction indicate that prenatal urinary DMA was negatively associated with gestational age among female infants (-0.44 week decrease in gestational age estimated for each IQR increase in DMA; 95% CI: -0.84, -0.05), while no association was observed among male infants (pinteraction = 0.02). No significant associations were detected between arsenic and birth weight or pregnancy complications. CONCLUSIONS:Higher prenatal arsenic exposure was associated with longer birth length, greater head circumference, and lower ponderal index. Associations between arsenic and gestational age may be modified by infant sex.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Preterm birth is a disease of multifactorial etiologies that has environmental, social, and maternal health components. Individual studies have shown that exposure to arsenic contaminated drinking water, child marriage, and low maternal weight gain during pregnancy contribute to preterm birth. These factors are highly prevalent and often co-exist in Bangladesh, a country in South Asia with one of the world's highest prevalences of preterm birth. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the individual and interactive effects of prenatal arsenic exposure, child marriage, and pregnancy weight gain on preterm birth in a prospective birth cohort in Bangladesh. METHODS:During 2008-2011, we recruited 1613 pregnant women aged ?18years at ?16weeks of gestation and followed them until 1-month post-partum. We measured total arsenic in drinking water (n=1184) and in maternal toenails (n=1115) collected at enrollment and ?1-month post-partum, respectively using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Child marriage (<18years old) was defined using self-report, and 2nd and 3rd trimester pregnancy weight gain was calculated using monthly records. Gestational age was determined at enrollment by ultrasound. RESULTS:In multivariate adjusted Poisson regression models, the risk ratios (RR) for preterm birth were 1.12 (95% CI: 1.07-1.18) for a unit change in natural log water arsenic exposure, 2.28 (95% CI: 1.76-2.95) for child marriage, and 0.64 (95% CI: 0.42-0.97) for a pound per week increase in maternal weight during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. In stratified analysis by child marriage, pregnancy weight gain was inversely associated with preterm birth among women with a history of child marriage (RR=0.58; 95% CI: 0.37-0.92), but not among women with no history of child marriage (RR=86; 95% CI: 0.37-2.01). Mediation analysis revealed that both arsenic exposure and child marriage had small but significant associations with preterm birth via lowering pregnancy weight gain. Similar associations were observed when arsenic exposure was assessed using maternal toenail arsenic concentrations. CONCLUSIONS:Reducing arsenic exposure and ending child marriage could reduce the risk of preterm birth in Bangladesh. Furthermore, enhancing nutritional support to ensure adequate weight gain during pregnancy may provide additional benefits especially for women with a history of child marriage.

Project description:BackgroundChildren born near New Bedford, Massachusetts, have been prenatally exposed to multiple environmental chemicals, in part due to an older housing stock, maternal diet, and proximity to the New Bedford Harbor (NBH) Superfund site. Chemical exposure measures are not available for all births, limiting epidemiologic investigations and potential interventions.ObjectiveWe linked biomonitoring data from the New Bedford Cohort (NBC) and birth record data to predict prenatal exposures for all contemporaneous area births.MethodsWe used prenatal exposure biomarker data from the NBC, a population-based cohort of 788 mother-infant pairs born during 1993–1998 to mothers living near the NBH, linked to their corresponding Massachusetts birth record data, to build predictive models for cord serum polychlorinated biphenyls (expressed as a sum, [Formula: see text]), [Formula: see text] (DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), cord blood lead (Pb), and maternal hair mercury (Hg). We applied the best fit models (highest pseudo [Formula: see text]), with multivariable smooths of continuous variables, to predict exposure biomarkers for all 10,270 births during 1993–1998 around the NBH. We used 10-fold cross validation to validate the exposure models and the bootstrap method to characterize sampling variability in the exposure predictions.ResultsThe 10-fold cross-validated [Formula: see text] for the [Formula: see text], DDE, HCB, Pb, and Hg exposure models were 0.54, 0.40, 0.34, 0.46, and 0.40, respectively. For each exposure model, multivariable smooths of continuous variables improved the fit compared with linear models. Other variables with significant effects on exposure estimates were paternal education, maternal race/ethnicity, and maternal ancestry. The resulting exposure predictions for all births had variability consistent with the NBC measured exposures.ConclusionsPredictive models using multivariable smoothing explained reasonable amounts of variance in prenatal exposure biomarkers. Our analyses suggest that prenatal chemical exposures can be predicted for all contemporaneous births in the same geographic area by modeling available biomarker data for a subset of that population. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4849.

Dataset Information

Prenatal Arsenic Exposure and Birth Outcomes among a Population Residing near a Mining-Related Superfund Site.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Citation

Publications

Prenatal Arsenic Exposure and Birth Outcomes among a Population Residing near a Mining-Related Superfund Site.

Similar Datasets

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