Concentrations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Organochlorine Pesticides in Umbilical Cord Blood Serum of Newborns in Kingston, Jamaica

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

To date much of the biomonitoring related to exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine (OC) pesticides is from middle to high income countries, including the U.S., Canada and Europe, but such data are lacking for the majority of low to middle income countries. Using data from 64 pregnant mothers who were enrolled in 2011, we aimed to assess the concentrations of the aforementioned toxins in umbilical cord blood serum of 67 Jamaican newborns. For 97 of the 100 PCB congeners and 16 of the 17 OC pesticides, all (100%) concentrations were below their respective limits of detection (LOD). Mean (standard deviation (SD)) lipid-adjusted concentrations in cord blood serum for congeners PCB-153, PCB-180, PCB-206 and total PCB were 14.25 (3.21), 7.16 (1.71), 7.30 (1.74) and 28.15 (6.03) ng/g-lipid, respectively. The means (SD) for the 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE)-hexane fraction and total-DDE were 61.61 (70.78) and 61.60 (70.76) ng/g-lipid, respectively. Compared to the U.S. and Canada, the concentrations of these toxins were lower in cord-blood serum of Jamaican newborns. We discuss that these differences could be partly due to differences in dietary patterns in these countries. Despite limitations in our dataset, our results provide information on the investigated toxins in cord blood serum that could serve as a reference for Jamaican newborns.

Related collections

Most cited references 44

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Epidemiologic Evaluation of Measurement Data in the Presence of Detection Limits

Jay H. Lubin, Joanne Colt, David Camann … (2004)

Quantitative measurements of environmental factors greatly improve the quality of epidemiologic studies but can pose challenges because of the presence of upper or lower detection limits or interfering compounds, which do not allow for precise measured values. We consider the regression of an environmental measurement (dependent variable) on several covariates (independent variables). Various strategies are commonly employed to impute values for interval-measured data, including assignment of one-half the detection limit to nondetected values or of “fill-in” values randomly selected from an appropriate distribution. On the basis of a limited simulation study, we found that the former approach can be biased unless the percentage of measurements below detection limits is small (5–10%). The fill-in approach generally produces unbiased parameter estimates but may produce biased variance estimates and thereby distort inference when 30% or more of the data are below detection limits. Truncated data methods (e.g., Tobit regression) and multiple imputation offer two unbiased approaches for analyzing measurement data with detection limits. If interest resides solely on regression parameters, then Tobit regression can be used. If individualized values for measurements below detection limits are needed for additional analysis, such as relative risk regression or graphical display, then multiple imputation produces unbiased estimates and nominal confidence intervals unless the proportion of missing data is extreme. We illustrate various approaches using measurements of pesticide residues in carpet dust in control subjects from a case–control study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

0 comments Cited 255 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Birth Weight and Prenatal Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE): A Meta-analysis within 12 European Birth Cohorts

Eva Govarts, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Greet Schoeters … (2011)

Objectives: Exposure to high concentrations of persistent organochlorines may cause fetal toxicity, but the evidence at low exposure levels is limited. Large studies with substantial exposure contrasts and appropriate exposure assessment are warranted. Within the framework of the EU (European Union) ENRIECO (ENvironmental Health RIsks in European Birth Cohorts) and EU OBELIX (OBesogenic Endocrine disrupting chemicals: LInking prenatal eXposure to the development of obesity later in life) projects, we examined the hypothesis that the combination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) adversely affects birth weight. Methods: We used maternal and cord blood and breast milk samples of 7,990 women enrolled in 15 study populations from 12 European birth cohorts from 1990 through 2008. Using identical variable definitions, we performed for each cohort linear regression of birth weight on estimates of cord serum concentration of PCB-153 and p,p´-DDE adjusted for gestational age and a priori selected covariates. We obtained summary estimates by meta-analysis and performed analyses of interactions. Results: The median concentration of cord serum PCB-153 was 140 ng/L (range of cohort medians 20–484 ng/L) and that of p,p´-DDE was 528 ng/L (range of cohort medians 50–1,208 ng/L). Birth weight decreased with increasing cord serum concentration of PCB-153 after adjustment for potential confounders in 12 of 15 study populations. The meta-analysis including all cohorts indicated a birth weight decline of 150 g [95% confidence interval (CI): –250, –50 g] per 1-µg/L increase in PCB-153, an exposure contrast that is close to the range of exposures across the cohorts. A 1-µg/L increase in p,p´-DDE was associated with a 7-g decrease in birth weight (95% CI: –18, 4 g). Conclusions: The findings suggest that low-level exposure to PCB (or correlated exposures) impairs fetal growth, but that exposure to p,p´-DDE does not. The study adds to mounting evidence that low-level exposure to PCBs is inversely associated with fetal growth.

0 comments Cited 78 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Assays with lower detection limits: implications for epidemiological investigations.

Brian W Whitcomb, Enrique Schisterman (2008)

Epidemiological investigations of health effects related to chronic low-level exposures or other circumstances often face the difficult task of dealing with levels of biomarkers that are hard to detect and/or quantify. In these cases instrumentation may not adequately measure biomarker levels. Reasons include a failure of instruments to detect levels below a certain value or, alternatively, interference by error or 'noise'. Current laboratory practice determines a 'limit of detection (LOD)', or some other detection threshold, as a function of the distribution of instrument 'noise'. Although measurements are produced above and below this threshold in many circumstances, rather than numerical data, all points observed below this threshold may be reported as 'not detected'. The focus of this process of determination of the LOD is instrument noise and avoiding false positives. Moreover, uncertainty is assumed to apply only to the lowest values, which are treated differently from above-threshold values, thereby potentially creating a false dichotomy. In this paper we discuss the application of thresholds to measurement of biomarkers and illustrate how conventional approaches, though appropriate for certain settings, may fail epidemiological investigations. Rather than automated procedures that subject observed data to a standard threshold, the authors advocate investigators to seek information on the measurement process and request all observed data from laboratories (including the data below the threshold) to determine appropriate treatment of those data.

0 comments Cited 35 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Contributors

Helena Solo-Gabriele: Role: Academic Editor

Alesia Ferguson: Role: Academic Editor

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Environ Res Public Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Environ Res Public Health

Journal ID (publisher-id): ijerph

Title: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Publisher: MDPI

ISSN (Print): 1661-7827

ISSN (Electronic): 1660-4601

Publication date (Electronic): 21 October 2016

Publication date (Print): October 2016

Volume: 13

Issue: 10

Electronic Location Identifier: 1032

Affiliations

[1 ]Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences (EHGES), University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Jan.Bressler@ 123456uth.tmc.edu (J.B.); Eric.Boerwinkle@ 123456uth.tmc.edu (E.B.)

[2 ]Division of Clinical and Translational Sciences, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA; MinJae.Lee@ 123456uth.tmc.edu

[3 ]Biostatistics/Epidemiology/Research Design (BERD) Component, Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Manouchehr.Hessabi@ 123456uth.tmc.edu (M.H.); adickerson@ 123456hsph.harvard.edu (A.S.D.)

[4 ]Department of Child & Adolescent Health, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica; msammsvaughan@ 123456gmail.com (M.S.-V.); cooredesai@ 123456googlemail.com (C.C.D.); sydonniesp@ 123456gmail.com (S.S.-P.); jodyreece@ 123456yahoo.com (J.-A.R.); renee.n.morgan@ 123456gmail.com (R.M.)

[5 ]Human Genetics Center, University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Megan.L.Grove@ 123456uth.tmc.edu

[6 ]Division of Chemistry and Toxicology, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), Lansing, MI 48906, USA; sara.tomechko@ 123456gmail.com (S.E.T.); MorenoE@ 123456michigan.gov (E.K.M.); geigerm@ 123456michigan.gov (M.J.G.); okeefem@ 123456michigan.gov (M.E.O.)

[7 ]Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX 77054, USA; Katherine.A.Loveland@ 123456uth.tmc.edu

Author notes

[* ]Correspondence: Mohammad.H.Rahbar@ 123456uth.tmc.edu ; Tel.: +1-713-500-7901; Fax: +1-713-500-0766

Article

Publisher ID: ijerph-13-01032

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph13101032

PMC ID: 5086771

PubMed ID: 27775677

SO-VID: 8b5e84f4-fb3e-4650-8781-4426f2e60b57

License:

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

History

Date received : 16 June 2016

Date accepted : 14 October 2016

Comments

Comment on this article

scite_

Cited by 3

See all cited by

Most referenced authors 300

See all reference authors

- Version 1

Concentrations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Organochlorine Pesticides in Umbilical Cord Blood Serum of Newborns in Kingston, Jamaica

Read this article at

Abstract

Related collections

Global Health Next Generation Network

Most cited references 44

Epidemiologic Evaluation of Measurement Data in the Presence of Detection Limits

Birth Weight and Prenatal Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE): A Meta-analysis within 12 European Birth Cohorts

Assays with lower detection limits: implications for epidemiological investigations.

Author and article information

Contributors

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 71

Cited by 3

Most referenced authors 300