title: Dioxin concentrations in breast milk of Vietnamese nursing mothers: a survey four decades after the herbicide spraying.
abstract: In an operation by United States Armed Forces during 1961 to 1971, large quantities of herbicides were sprayed in South Vietnam. These herbicides contained 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetraCDD), the most toxic congener of dioxins. Several decades after the herbicide spraying ceased, dioxin concentrations in the environment and human remained elevated in the sprayed areas. Breast milk samples from 520 nursing mothers residing in areas including the hot spots as well as the sprayed and unsprayed areas were collected to quantify the levels of dioxins. The total toxic equivalents of 2,3,7,8-substitued PCDDs/PCDFs in breast milk of mothers living in the hot spots, and the sprayed and unsprayed areas were 14.10 pg/g lipid, 10.89 pg/g lipid, and 4.09 pg/g lipid for primiparae and 11.48 pg/g lipid, 7.56 pg/g lipid, and 2.84 pg/g lipid for multiparae, respectively, with significant differences in the values among the three areas. In the hot spots, dioxin levels were highly correlated with the residency of mothers after adjustment for their age and parity.
authors: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Ishikawa, Japan. taithuy@kanazawa-med.ac.jp
authors: Pham The
authors: PT
authors: Tai
authors: Muneko
authors: M
authors: Nishijo
authors: Teruhiko
authors: T
authors: Kido
authors: Hideaki
authors: H
authors: Nakagawa
authors: Shoko
authors: S
authors: Maruzeni
authors: Rie
authors: R
authors: Naganuma
authors: Nguyen Thi Nguyet
authors: NT
authors: Anh
authors: Yuko
authors: Y
authors: Morikawa
authors: Hoang Van
authors: HV
authors: Luong
authors: Tran Hai
authors: TH
authors: Anh
authors: Nguyen Ngoc
authors: NN
authors: Hung
authors: Le Ke
authors: le K
authors: Son
authors: Kenji
authors: K
authors: Tawara
authors: Hisao
authors: H
authors: Nishijo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006306:Health Surveys; D006540:Herbicides / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016014:Linear Models; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010298:Parity; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D014744:Vietnam
chemical_list: D001572:Benzofurans; D004147:Dioxins; D006540:Herbicides; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins