DDE and PCB serum concentration in maternal blood and their adult female offspring.
BACKGROUND
Dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (DDE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be passed from mother to offspring through placental transfer or breastfeeding. Unknown is whether maternal levels can predict concentrations in adult offspring.


OBJECTIVE
To test the association between maternal blood levels of DDE and PCBs and adult female offspring levels of these compounds using data from the Michigan Fisheaters'Cohort.


METHODS
DDE and PCB concentrations were determined in 132 adult daughters from 84 mothers. Prenatal exposures were estimated based on maternal DDE and PCB serum levels measured between 1973 and 1991. Levels in adult daughters were regressed on maternal and estimated prenatal exposure levels, adjusting for potential confounders using linear mixed models. Confounders included daughter's age, birth order, birth weight, number of pregnancies, the length of time the daughter was breast-fed, the length of time the daughter breast-fed her own children, last year fish-eating status, body mass index, and lipid weight.


RESULTS
The median age of the participants was 40.4 years (range 18.4-65.4, 5-95 percentiles 22.5-54.6%, respectively). Controlling for confounders and intra-familial associations, DDE and PCB concentrations in adult daughters were significantly positively associated with estimated prenatal levels and with maternal concentrations. The proportion of variance in the adult daughters' organochlorine concentrations explained by the maternal exposure levels is approximately 23% for DDE and 43% for PCBs. The equivalent of a median of 3.67 μg/L prenatal DDE and a median of 2.56 μg/L PCBs were 15.64 and 10.49 years of fish consumption, respectively. When controlling for effects of the shared environment (e.g., fish diet) by using a subsample of paternal levels measured during the same time frames (n=53 and n=37), we determined that the direct maternal transfer remains important.


CONCLUSIONS
Estimated intra-uterine DDE and PCB levels predicted concentrations in adult female offspring 40 years later. Interpretation of adverse health effects from intra-uterine exposures of persistent pollutants may need to consider the sustained impact of maternal DDE and PCB levels found in their offspring.
Department of Statistics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
Wei-Wen
WW
Hsu
Departments of Surgery and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. Electronic address: janet.osuch@hc.msu.edu.
Janet Rose
JR
Osuch
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
David
D
Todem
Bureau of Laboratories, Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing, MI, USA.
Bonita
B
Taffe
Bureau of Laboratories, Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing, MI, USA.
Michael
M
O'Keefe
Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.
Selamawit
S
Adera
Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.
Wilfried
W
Karmaus
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D008875:Middle Aged; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene; Female offspring; Intra-uterine exposure; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Sport-caught fish consumption