title: Placental transfer and concentrations of cadmium, mercury, lead, and selenium in mothers, newborns, and young children.
abstract: There is an emerging hypothesis that exposure to cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and selenium (Se) in utero and early childhood could have long-term health consequences. However, there are sparse data on early life exposures to these elements in US populations, particularly in urban minority samples. This study measured levels of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se in 50 paired maternal, umbilical cord, and postnatal blood samples from the Boston Birth Cohort (BBC). Maternal exposure to Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se was 100% detectable in red blood cells (RBCs), and there was a high degree of maternal-fetal transfer of Hg, Pb, and Se. In particular, we found that Hg levels in cord RBCs were 1.5 times higher than those found in the mothers. This study also investigated changes in concentrations of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se during the first few years of life. We found decreased levels of Hg and Se but elevated Pb levels in early childhood. Finally, this study investigated the association between metal burden and preterm birth and low birthweight. We found significantly higher levels of Hg in maternal and cord plasma and RBCs in preterm or low birthweight births, compared with term or normal birthweight births. In conclusion, this study showed that maternal exposure to these elements was widespread in the BBC, and maternal-fetal transfer was a major source of early life exposure to Hg, Pb, and Se. Our results also suggest that RBCs are better than plasma at reflecting the trans-placental transfer of Hg, Pb, and Se from the mother to the fetus. Our study findings remain to be confirmed in larger studies, and the implications for early screening and interventions of preconception and pregnant mothers and newborns warrant further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Zhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Trace Metals Laboratory, Division of Environmental Chemistry Laboratories Administration, Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.affiliation: Trace Metals Laboratory, Division of Environmental Chemistry Laboratories Administration, Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Taiyin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Trace Metals Laboratory, Division of Environmental Chemistry Laboratories Administration, Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bind
authors.affiliation: Trace Metals Laboratory, Division of Environmental Chemistry Laboratories Administration, Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Prince
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kassim
authors.affiliation: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Guoying
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Yuelong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Xiumei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Deanna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.affiliation: Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Research Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Tami
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bartell
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Yiwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Strickland
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA [2] Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Navas-Acien
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Eliseo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guallar
authors.affiliation: 1] Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA [2] Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002104:Cadmium / Q000097:blood; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood; D008670:Metals / Q000097:blood*; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D008628:Mercury; D012643:Selenium
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