Serum DDT and DDE levels in pregnant women of Chiapas, Mexico.
The authors measured the main ingredients of technical DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl [p,p'-DDT]) and its principal metabolite, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)ethylene [p,p'-DDE]) in serum collected from 52 pregnant women in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico in 1998. The median lipid-adjusted serum levels for the women were 676 ng/g p,p'-DDT (range: 56-23,169 ng/g) and 4,843 ng/g p,p'-DDE (range: 113-41,964 ng/g). In regression analysis, serum DDT and DDE increased with age (test for trend, p = .022) but decreased with total lactation (test for trend, p < .001). Residence in a house that had ever been sprayed for malaria control was also related to serum DDT and DDE. This study provides evidence of high-level exposure to DDT and DDE among pregnant women living in Chiapas, Mexico, despite countrywide restrictions on its use at the time.
Koepke
Ruth
R
School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-7360, USA.
Warner
Marcella
M
Petreas
Myrto
M
Cabria
Angeles
A
Danis
Rogelio
R
Hernandez-Avila
Mauricio
M
Eskenazi
Brenda
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003634:DDT / Q000097:blood*; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene / Q000097:blood*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000097:blood*; D007774:Lactation; D008800:Mexico; D011247:Pregnancy
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007306:Insecticides; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; D003634:DDT