Inverse correlation among organochlorine pesticide levels to total lipid serum contents: a preliminary study in Veracruz, México

Abstract

Organochlorine pesticides, due to their hydrophobic nature and persistence, accumulate in tissues rich in lipids, which had been used as a biomarker for environmental pollution. In humans, organochlorine pesticides are continuously circulating and equilibrating among body compartments. The objective of the study was to evaluate the concentrations of organochlorine pesticides in blood serum and compare their levels to the total lipid contents in Veracruz, México inhabitants. Our hypothesis is that concentrations of organochlorine pesticides will increase just as lipid concentrations. Levels of organochlorine pesticides were divided in ascending tertils according to their total lipid content. The linear trend model applied surprisingly reveals that the average level of all organochlorine pesticides decreases as the lipid concentration increases. From one tertil to the next β-HCH, it shows a decrease of -3.19 mg kg(-1) on lipid basis, pp.'DDE levels decrease by -3.70 mg kg(-1) on lipid basis and pp.'DDT levels decrease -1.13 mg kg(-1) on lipid basis. We conclude that the levels and the orderly sequence of organochlorine pesticide distributions in the blood serum maintain an inverse relationship to total lipid blood serum concentrations.

Comparison of Organochlorine Pesticide Levels Between Human Blood Serum and Adipose Tissue

“…For that reason, the expression of organochlorine pesticide blood levels on total blood lipid concentration improved precision. The equilibrium may not hold permanent lipid concentrations, but is influenced by many factors such as lipid synthesis, and clinical, metabolic and toxicological conditions which may influence the accumulation of organochlorine pesticides and other lipophilic compounds in lipid rich tissues, in their mobilization, in the blood/lipid ratio, and in the blood/organ tissue ratio (López et al 2014, Caba et al 2015.…”

“…Lipid correction or adjustment of organochlorine pesticides concentrations is option to deal with the lack of information on fasting status of participants, in other words, it expresses the organochlorine pesticide levels by total lipid concentrations when the bias that may cause ignorance of fasting status is potentially much higher than the bias that could cause the influence of these pesticide levels expressed on lipid basis (López et al 2014, Caba et al 2015. As a result, we chose the quadratic type of regression model to model the curvature in the relationship between a response variable (Y) and a predictor variable (X), by extending the simple linear regression model (Fig.…”

“…These pesticides biomagnify in food chains and bioaccumulate in adipose or lipid-rich tissues of organisms including humans (Caba et al 2015). Therefore, humans continue to be exposed to different organochlorine pesticides, at background levels and via direct routes of intake (ingestion, inhalation, intrauterine transmission, etc.…”

“…The quantification of individual levels within inhabitants exposed to the contaminants over an extended life span was measured by sequential determinations of these pesticides (Herrero et al 2011, Waliszewski et al 2012, Caba et al 2015, Gallo et al 2015. Therefore, the organochlorine pesticide residues draw attention to many problems related to human pollution, originated by life in a polluted environment.…”

“…In the case of persistent organochlorine pesticides, another complication is estimated on their distribution partitioning pattern into compartments for storage of lipids (Caba et al 2015). The bioconcentration of organochlorine pesticides in different tissues is often conducted to indicate their potential impact on exposed organisms.…”