title: Dietary exposure to dioxins and PCBs in a large cohort of pregnant women: results from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).
abstract: Exposure to dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) during pregnancy and breastfeeding may result in adverse health effects in children. Prenatal exposure is determined by the concentrations of dioxins and PCBs in maternal blood, which reflect the body burden obtained by long term dietary exposure. The aims of this study were (1) to describe dietary exposure and important dietary sources to dioxins and PCBs in a large group of pregnant women and (2) to identify maternal characteristics associated with high dietary exposure to dioxins and PCBs. Dietary exposure to dioxins (sum of toxic equivalents (TEQs) from dioxin-like (dl) compounds) and PCB-153 in 83,524 pregnant women (gestational weeks 17-22) who participated in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) during the years 2002-2009 was calculated based on a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a database of dioxin and PCB concentrations in Norwegian food. The median (interquartile range, IQR) intake of PCB-153 (marker of ndl-PCBs) was 0.81 (0.77) ng/kg bw/day. For dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs, the median (IQR) intake was 0.56 (0.37) pg TEQ/kg bw/day. Moreover, 2.3% of the participants had intakes exceeding the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 14pg TEQ/kg bw/week. Multiple regression analysis showed that dietary exposure was positively associated with maternal age, maternal education, weight gain during pregnancy, being a student, and alcohol consumption during pregnancy and negatively associated with pre-pregnancy BMI and smoking. A high dietary exposure to PCB-153 or dl-compounds (TEQ) was mainly explained by the consumption of seagull eggs and/or pate with fish liver and roe. Women who according to Norwegian recommendations avoid these food items generally do not have dietary exposure above the tolerable intake of dioxins and dl-PCBs.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. ida.henriette.caspersen@fhi.no
authors.forename: Ida H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Caspersen
authors.forename: Helle K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Knutsen
authors.forename: Anne Lise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Brantsæter
authors.forename: Margaretha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haugen
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Helle Margrete
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Meltzer
authors.forename: Helen E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Kvalem
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001822:Body Burden; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004147:Dioxins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005396:Fish Products / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D005506:Food Contamination; D006801:Humans; D009664:Norway; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004147:Dioxins; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; C014024:2,4,5,2',4',5'-hexachlorobiphenyl
keywords: Diet; Dioxins; MoBa; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Pregnancy; The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study