title: Assessing determinants of maternal blood concentrations for persistent organic pollutants and metals in the eastern and western Canadian Arctic.
abstract: Aboriginal peoples in the Canadian Arctic are exposed to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and metals mainly through their consumption of a traditional diet of wildlife items. Recent studies indicate that many human chemical levels have decreased in the north, likely due to a combination of reduced global chemical emissions, dietary shifts, and risk mitigation efforts by local health authorities. Body burdens for chemicals in mothers can be further offset by breastfeeding, parity, and other maternal characteristics. We have assessed the impact of several dietary and maternal covariates following a decade of awareness of the contaminant issue in northern Canada, by performing multiple stepwise linear regression analyses from blood concentrations and demographic variables for 176 mothers recruited from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories during the period 2005-2007. A significant aboriginal group effect was observed for the modeled chemicals, except for lead and cadmium, after adjusting for covariates. Further, blood concentrations for POPs and metals were significantly associated with at least one covariate of older age, fewer months spent breastfeeding, more frequent eating of traditional foods, or smoking during pregnancy. Cadmium had the highest explained variance (72.5%) from just two significant covariates (current smoking status and parity). Although Inuit participants from the Northwest Territories consumed more traditional foods in general, Inuit participants from coastal communities in Nunavut continued to demonstrate higher adjusted blood concentrations for POPs and metals examined here. While this is due in part to a higher prevalence of marine mammals in the eastern Arctic diet, it is possible that other aboriginal group effects unrelated to diet may also contribute to elevated chemical body burdens in Canadian Arctic populations.
authors.affiliation: Chemicals Surveillance Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada, 269 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: meredith.curren@hc-sc.gc.ca.
authors.forename: Meredith S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Curren
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada, 50 Columbine Driveway, Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: chun.lei.liang@hc-sc.gc.ca.
authors.forename: Chun Lei
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada, 50 Columbine Driveway, Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: karelyn.davis@hc-sc.gc.ca.
authors.forename: Karelyn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Electronic address: Kami_Kandola@gov.nt.ca.
authors.forename: Kami
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kandola
authors.affiliation: Government of Nunavut, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada. Electronic address: jbrewster@gov.nu.ca.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brewster
authors.affiliation: Government of Nunavut, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada. Electronic address: mary_potyrala@yahoo.ca.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Potyrala
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics, University of Ottawa, 20 Marie-Curie, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: laurie.chan@uottawa.ca.
authors.forename: Hing Man
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions; D001822:Body Burden; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D006801:Humans; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008670:Metals / Q000097:blood*; D015873:Northwest Territories; D020957:Nunavut; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D008670:Metals; D009930:Organic Chemicals
keywords: Arctic; Inuit; Mercury; Persistent organic pollutants; Pregnant