Levels of persistent organic pollutant and their predictors among young adults

Abstract

Exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (p,p’-DDE), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) continues to be of concern due to their ubiquitous distribution and high persistence. Current toxicant body burden is still a primary concern within the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation since other studies conducted within the community have shown relationships between these POPs and endocrine disruption. In this article we describe the levels of these toxicants in young adults of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation between the ages of 17 and 21 years of age (mean age 18.1 years), and investigate potential influences of their current body-burden. Seventeen congeners in fourteen chromatographic peaks were detected in 50% or more of the individuals sampled (geometric mean [GM] of the sum of these congeners = 0.43 ppb). Congeners 118, 138[+163+164] and 153 had the highest rate of detection (≥ 98%) within the Akwesasne youth. Of the other organochlorines, HCB (GM= 0.04 ppb) and p,p’-DDE (GM=0.38 ppb) were found in 100% and 99% of the sample respectively. Significantly higher levels of PCBs were found among individuals who were breastfed as infants, were first born, or had consumed local fish within the past year. When compared to levels of p,p’-DDE, HCB, and 13 specific congeners reported by the CDC for youth between the ages of 12 and 19 years, the geometric means of several congeners (CBs 99, 105, 110, and 118) among the Akwesasne were higher than the reported CDC 90th percentile. In contrast, levels of CB 28 in Akwesasne youth were ∼50% or less than those of the CDC cohort. p,p’-DDE and HCB levels were generally higher in the CDC cohort (GM of 0.516 and 0.065 ppb, respectively for Mohawks vs. 2.51 and 0.123, respectively, for CDC). Concentrations of non-persistent PCBs among this sample of Akwesasne young adults were higher than those reported by the CDC suggesting continued exposure, but lower than those associated with severe contamination. Additional research into the concentration trends of individual PCB congeners within Akwesasne youth and young adults is warranted to further improve our insight into the determinants and influences of organochlorine concentrations within members of the Akwesasne community.

Levels and predictors of persistent organic pollutants in an adult population from four Spanish regions

“…In agreement with Agudo et al (2009), the most consistent dietary predictors in our population were those for PCBs. In this regard, fatty food items were in general associated with POP levels, such as blue fish consumption, which showed a positive relationship with levels of PCB-138, PCB-153, PCB-180 and p,p′-DDE, confirming previous reports Bjermo et al, 2013;Gallo et al, 2011;Llop et al, 2010;Rivas et al, 2007). Llobet et al (2003) reported that PCB-153 was the most abundant persistent organic pollutant in food items, especially in fish.…”

“…The finding that these variables have a stronger effect in comparison to the participants' history of breastfeeding/parity indicates an interesting cohort effect that affects the POP burden at an adult stage. In this regard, Gallo et al (2011) and Hsu et al (2014) also found positive associations between the receipt of breastfeeding and POP exposure. Both parity and lactation have been described as major routes for POP clearance (Cerrillo et al, 2006;Hansen et al, 2010;Hardell et al, 2010;Veyhe et al, 2015).…”

Changes in persistent organic pollutant levels from adolescence to young adulthood

“…For both projects, all data collection was performed by project staff, all members of the Akwesasne community, and data were collected without prior knowledge of participants’ exposure status. Study protocols and methods have previously been described in detail (Gallo et al 2011; Newman et al 2006; Newman et al 2009; Schell et al 2003), and are briefly reviewed here.…”

“…Young adults were eligible if they had participated in MAWBs, and were now between 17 and 20 years of age (Gallo et al 2011). The YAWBs sample consisted of 154 participants; however two persons were omitted because reported organochlorine levels from our earlier study, MAWBs, were not available and one person was excluded because serum POP levels were not available from the follow-up study, leaving a final sample size of 151 individuals.…”

“…The laboratory is accredited by the NYSDOH Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program and participated in the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) Ring Test for Persistent Organic Pollutants in Human Serum. The same laboratory analysis protocol was used for both studies (for more detail see Schell et al 2003 and Gallo et al 2011). Analysis of low and high level QC performance samples indicated accuracy and precision of ±15% of nominal and ≤15% RSD, respectively.…”