title: Breastfeeding and concentrations of HCB and p,p'-DDE at the age of 1 year.
abstract: Exposure to organochlorine compounds (OCs) occurs both in utero and through breastfeeding. Levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in the cord serum of newborns from a population located in the vicinity of an electrochemical factory in Spain are among the highest ever reported. We aimed to assess the degree of breast milk contamination in this population and the subsequent exposure of children to these chemicals through breastfeeding. A birth cohort including 92 mother-infant pairs (84% of all births in the study area) was recruited between 1997 and 1999 in five neighboring villages. OCs were measured in cord serum, colostrum, breast milk, and children's serum at 13 months of age. Concentrations of OCs were detected and quantified in all colostrum and milk samples. The concentrations in mature milk were lower than those encountered in colostrum. At 13 months of age the highest concentration of OC was found for dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethane (p,p'-DDE), in contrast to what these children presented at birth, where HCB was the highest compound. Those infants who were breastfed had higher concentrations at the age of 1 than those who were formula fed (2.13 ng/mL of HCB among formula feeders vs 4.26 among breast feeders, and 1.95 of p,p'-DDE vs 6.00 (P<0.05)). Long-term breastfeeding leads to a dose-response increase of the concentrations in children's serum during the first year of life.
authors.affiliation: Respiratory and Environmental Health Research Unit, Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica, C.Dr. Aiguader, 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. nribas@imim.es
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ribas-Fitó
authors.forename: Joan O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Grimalt
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marco
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sala
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mazón
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sunyer
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003126:Colostrum / Q000378:metabolism; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000378:metabolism; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016014:Linear Models; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000378:metabolism*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D012424:Rural Population; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls