title: Body burdens of mercury, lead, selenium and copper among Baltimore newborns.
abstract: Umbilical cord blood or serum concentrations of mercury, lead, selenium and copper were measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in a population of 300 infants born in Baltimore, Maryland. Geometric mean values were 1.37 μg/L (95% confidence interval: 1.27, 1.48) for mercury; 0.66 μg/dL (95% CI: 0.61, 0.71) for lead; and 38.62 μg/dL (95% CI: 36.73, 40.61) for copper. Mean selenium was 70.10 μg/L (95% CI: 68.69, 70.52). Mercury, selenium and copper levels were within exposure ranges reported among similar populations, whereas the distribution of lead levels was lower than prior reports; only one infant had a cord blood lead above 10 μg/dL. Levels of selenium were significantly correlated with concentrations of lead (Spearman's ρ=0.20) and copper (Spearman's ρ=0.51). Multivariable analyses identified a number of factors associated with one of more of these exposures. These included: increase in maternal age (increased lead); Asian mothers (increased mercury and lead, decreased selenium and copper); higher umbilical cord serum n-3 fatty acids (increased mercury, selenium and copper), mothers using Medicaid (increased lead); increasing gestational age (increased copper); increasing birthweight (increased selenium); older neighborhood housing stock (increased lead and selenium); and maternal smoking (increased lead). This work provides additional information about contemporary prenatal element exposures and can help identify groups at risk of atypical exposures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Ellen M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: Jeffery M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jarrett
authors.forename: Yu Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Kathleen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hibbeln
authors.forename: Benjamin J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Apelberg
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Herbstman
authors.forename: Rolf U
authors.initials: RU
authors.lastname: Halden
authors.forename: Frank R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Witter
authors.forename: Lynn R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Goldman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015142:Baltimore; D001822:Body Burden; D003300:Copper / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000097:blood*; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D007854:Lead; D003300:Copper; D008628:Mercury; D012643:Selenium