Individual heavy metal exposure and birth outcomes in Shenqiu county along the Huai River Basin in China

Abstract

: Exposure to heavy metals during pregnancy is an important risk factor for adverse birth outcomes. We aimed to investigate the current heavy metal exposure levels in cord blood from healthy pregnant women residing in the Huaihe River Basin, China, and examined the association between heavy metal levels and dietary habits and lifestyle factors. In this study, we measured the exposure levels of five heavy metals in the umbilical cord blood from 350 healthy pregnant women and administered 350 self-reported questionnaires regarding the general characteristics and dietary habits of those women. : This study was undertaken in Shenqiu county, Henan province, which is in the area of the Huai River Basin, in a cohort of pregnant women and newborn babies in 2013-2014. We recruited a sample of 1000 pregnant women among those receiving prenatal examination, measured the real individual newborn exposure to heavy metals in serum by ICP-MS, collected information regarding the pregnant women with a questionnaire survey and obtained data on environmental quality from environmental protection agencies and the available literature. We estimated the daily individual exposure to heavy metals of all the 1000 participants throughout the pregnancy and recorded their birth outcomes after delivery. Then we analyzed the association between birth outcome and individual exposure to heavy metals.: 54 newborn children had birth defects. The geometric means of cord blood levels of As, Cd, Cr, Pb and Hg were measured at 0.92 ± 1.01 ng mL, 0.11 ± 0.17 ng mL, 4.57 ± 5.02 ng mL, 3.37 ± 3.81 ng mL and 0.89 ± 1.69 ng mL for subjects ( = 54) who gave birth to infants with birth defects and 0.43 ± 0.88 ng mL, 0.52 ± 3.86 ng mL, 1.94 ± 2.92 ng mL, 4.38 ± 4.96 ng mL and 0.43 ± 0.91 ng mL for subjects ( = 296) with healthy infants, respectively. The contents of all five heavy metals in the whole blood of both of these two groups were higher than the reference values of the Chinese general population ( < 0.001). : The occurrence of birth defects was 15.4% in this cohort, and was correlated to exposure of parents to environments containing heavy metal contaminants in Shenqiu county in the Huai River Basin. The heavy metal exposure situation of the investigated population had serious effects in terms of reproductive defects in children. The specific link between newborn defects and environmental heavy metal contaminants suggested that contamination in pregnant women persisted over time, and that the exposure may have a long term effect.

Determination of Toxic Metals Burden and Related Risk Factors in Pregnant Women: A Biological Monitoring in Sabzevar, Iran

“…Another positive and signi cant correlation was observed between Pb and Cd levels in the maternal blood and the umbilical cord blood. These results are consistent with the studies of Lin et al 2018(Lin et al 2018). The presence of Se in maternal blood prevents many toxins from entering to the fetus(Magos et al 1980).…”

“…The results of our study showed that 78.48%, 73.81% and 39.29% of pregnant women and 83.53%, 43.53%, and 80% of the umbilical cord samples were below the recommendations of CDC levels for Pb, Cd, and As, respectively. While 21.52%, 26.19%, and 60.71% of maternal blood samples and 16.47%, 56.47%, and 20% of umbilical blood samples were higher than the CDC recommended levels for Pb, Cd and As, respectively.The presence of toxic metals even at low concentrations in the blood of pregnant women can also damage the fetus(Ha et al 2009;Lin et al 2018). Job-related contacts and foods are effective factors in exposure to toxic metals (Martí-Cid et al2008).Studies have revealed that approximately 88% of rice consumed in Iran (including Iranian, Pakistani, and Indian brands) does not meet national standards and WHO/FAO guidelines, and the health risks are unacceptable(Shara et al 2019).…”

An Innovative Digestion Method: Ultrasound-Assisted Electrochemical Oxidation for the Onsite Extraction of Heavy Metal Elements in Dairy Farm Slurry

“…More seriously, the transfer of HMs from soil to cereals and plants is a major HM intake route for humans. Excessive HMs may accumulate in specific human organs and interact with proteins and enzymes, making them damaged or inactive [ 13 ].…”

Proportions of Arsenic and Antimony in Biogeochemical Provinces as Health Risk Factors

“…Хронические эффекты мышьяка выражаются в поражении кожи, нейротоксичности, сердечнососудистых заболеваниях, диабете и раке. Международным агентством исследований рака (IARC) мышьяк и его неорганические соединения классифицируется как Carcinogenic to Humans (группа I) (IARC, 1980 [17] Геометрические средние уровня мышьяка в пуповинной крови рожениц -0,92 ± 1,01 нг/мл при 0,43 ± 0,88 нг/мл (n = 296) у здоровых младенцев [19]. При пероральном однократном воздействии мышьяковистого ангидрида в дозе 30 мг/кг установлено торможение процесса элиминации мышьяка из организма, что совпадает с порогом острого действия мышьяковистого ангидрида по изменению содержания SH-групп крови 4 В организме кур, получающих мышьяк с кормом в дозе 0,5-5,0 мг/кг, содержание мышьяка в мышечной ткани составляло 0,11-0,20 мг/кг, в печени -0,09-0,12 мг/кг, в почках -0,09-0,34 мг/кг и в яйцах -0,12-0,24 мг/кг 5 .…”