title: Infant dietary exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds in Greece.
abstract: The dietary exposure of infants to polychlorinated dibenzo dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) is an issue of great social impact. We investigated for the first time the dietary intake of these compounds in infants living in Greece. We included in our study two age groups: 0-6 months, when infants are fed exclusively by human milk and/or formula milk, and 6 to 12 months, when solid food is introduced to nutrition. We took into consideration analytical results for PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs concentrations in the most popular infant formulae in the Greek market, previous data for mother milk concentrations of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs from Greece, and finally analytical data for fat-containing food products from the Greek market. In the first study group, it was found than in infants exclusively fed by breast milk, the calculated sum of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs (60.3-80.4 TEQ pg/kg body weight) was significantly higher than that of infants that consume a combination of human milk and formula (31.2-41.6 TEQ pg/kg body weight). In the second study group, separate daily intake estimations were performed for babies receiving human milk (estimated total daily intake 19.76-24.95 TEQ pg/kg body weight) and formula milk (estimated total daily intake 1.60-2.24 TEQ pg/kg body weight). The risks of this exposure should not be overestimated because nursing is restricted to a limited period of human life and besides, the potential consumption of higher levels of dioxin-like compounds is fully compensated by the significant benefits of breast-feeding.
authors.affiliation: Mass Spectrometry and Dioxin Analysis Laboratory, NCSR Demokritos, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Danae
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Costopoulou
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vassiliadou
authors.forename: Leondios
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leondiadis
mesh_terms: D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D002657:Child Development; D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D005663:Furans / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D006115:Greece; D006540:Herbicides / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000737:chemistry*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007774:Lactation; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D004147:Dioxins; D005663:Furans; D006540:Herbicides; D010573:Pesticide Residues; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Human milk; Infant exposure; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins; Polychlorinated dibenzofurans