title: Infant toenails as a biomarker of in utero arsenic exposure.
abstract: A growing body of evidence suggests that in utero and early-life exposure to arsenic may have detrimental effects on children, even at the low to moderate levels common in the United States and elsewhere. In a sample of 170 mother-infant pairs from New Hampshire, we determined infant exposure to in utero arsenic by evaluating infant toenails as a biomarker using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Infant toenail arsenic concentration correlated with maternal postpartum toenail concentrations (Spearman's correlation coefficient 0.34). In adjusted linear models, a doubling of maternal toenail arsenic concentration was associated with a 53.8% increase in infant toenail arsenic concentration as compared with 20.4% for a doubling of maternal urine arsenic concentration. In a structural equation model, a doubling of the latent variable integrating maternal toenail and urine arsenic concentrations was associated with a 67.5% increase in infant toenail arsenic concentration. A similar correlation between infant and maternal postpartum toenail concentrations was observed in a validation cohort of 130 mother-infant pairs from Rhode Island. In utero exposure to arsenic occurs through maternal water and dietary sources, and infant toenails appear to be a reliable biomarker for estimating arsenic exposure during the critical window of gestation.
authors.affiliation: 1] Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA [2] Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: 1] Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA [2] Section of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 1] Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA [2] Section of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gilbert-Diamond
authors.affiliation: 1] Section of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA [2] Department of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Todd A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Mackenzie
authors.affiliation: 1] Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA [2] Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Cottingham
authors.affiliation: 1] Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA [2] Trace Element Analysis Core Laboratory, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Brian P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Rhode Island Child Health Study, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
authors.forename: Joyce S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: 1] Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA [2] Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Emily R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: 1] Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA [2] Rhode Island Child Health Study, Providence, Rhode Island, USA [3] Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Carmen J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Marsit
authors.affiliation: 1] Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA [2] Section of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Karagas
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000633:toxicity*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D009262:Nails / Q000737:chemistry*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001151:Arsenic