Exposure to Lithium and Cesium Through Drinking Water and Thyroid Function During Pregnancy: A Prospective Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT: Impaired thyroid function is a common side effect of lithium medication. Recent data indicate that lithium exposure through drinking water, although providing much lower doses than the medication, may also affect thyroid hormone levels. However, the effects in susceptible groups like pregnant women are not known.In a population-based mother-child cohort in the Argentinean Andes (n?=?194), an area with varying concentrations of lithium in the drinking water, we assessed lithium exposure repeatedly during pregnancy by measuring the concentrations in blood using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The markers of thyroid function included thyrotropin (TSH), free/total thyroxine (fT4/T4), free/total triiodothyronine (fT3/T3), thyroglobulin, and transthyretin in serum, sampled at the same time. Multiple potential confounders, including exposure to arsenic, cesium, and boron (elevated in water) as well as selenium and iodine (essential for thyroid function) were considered.The lithium concentrations in blood [median 25??g/L (0.0036?mmol/L); range 1.9-145??g/L (0.000027-0.021?mmol/L)] correlated significantly with those in urine and drinking water (rs?=?0.84, p?

SUBMITTER: Harari F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4652143 | biostudies-other | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other