Persistent organic pollutants and haematological markers in Greenlandic pregnant women: the ACCEPT sub-study

Abstract

The Arctic populations have high blood concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Exposure to POPs was related to adverse health effects e.g. immune, neurological and reproductive systems. This study investigates associations between serum POP levels and haematological markers in Greenlandic pregnant women. This cross-sectional study included 189 women enrolled in 2010–2011 at the Greenlandic West coast by the inclusion criteria ≥18 years of age and had lived for 50% or more of their life in Greenland. The associations between the sum of the POP variables polychlorinated biphenyls (sumPCBs), organochlorine pesticides (sumOCPs), perfluoroalkylated substances (sumPFASs) and 24 haematological markers were analysed using linear regression adjusted for age, pre-pregnancy BMI, parity, gestation week, plasma-cotinine and alcohol intake. It showed a significantly inverse association between several haematological markers (eosinophil, lymphocyte, neutrophil and white blood cells) and sumPCBs, sumOCPs and sumPFASs. In addition, the monocyte, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, plateletcrit and platelet count markers were significantly inversely associated with sumPFASs, but the haematocrit and mean erythrocyte corpuscular volume were positively associated with sumPFASs. In conclusion, exposure to POPs influenced several haematological markers, especially cell count parameters, suggesting immunosuppressive potential of POPs in Greenlandic pregnant women. The data need further investigations.

Health-risk Investigation Among First-grade School Children From Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP): A Cross-sectional Study

“…There exists a negative association between platelet number (PLT) and size (MPV), which represents PLT and MPV having signi cant association [20,21]. Evidence from previous epidemiological studies reported that the pollutant exposures were positively associated with MPV, PDW, and P-LCR and negatively associated with PLT [22][23][24][25]. Compared to CIA, signi cant differences in CBC parameter levels indicate that pollutant exposure in non-CIA might exist.…”

Pregnant Inuit Women’s Exposure to Metals and Association with Fetal Growth Outcomes: ACCEPT 2010–2015

“…Adjustments for POPs were not conducted in this study but should be considered for future studies. Adverse health effects associated with POPs in pregnant Inuit women, the fetus, and newborn are found in several studies [2,23,27,30,32,50,99,100]. The Arctic populations have some of the highest levels of POPs globally [1].…”

“…A Danish- and Greenlandic-speaking medical doctor recruited the participants in 2010–2011 and Greenlandic midwives and the study research team in 2013–2015. Enrolment and inclusion to the ACCEPT study have previously been reported [23,27,28,34]. Data on the women’s height (in meters), weight (in kilograms), smoking, and alcohol intake were obtained from medical records.…”

“…Exposure to heavy metals may lead to increased risks of cancer, allergies, neurological diseases, decreased cognition, and endocrine disorders [23,24,25,26,27]. The latter may adversely affect the hormonal system and disrupt the reproductive and/or immune system of both the exposed adult and pregnant women and their offspring, causing birth defects or developmental disorders [23,24,25,26,27]. Pregnant women are therefore particularly vulnerable, as exposure may affect fetal development and, thus, the next generation [23,25,26,27,28,29].…”

“…The latter may adversely affect the hormonal system and disrupt the reproductive and/or immune system of both the exposed adult and pregnant women and their offspring, causing birth defects or developmental disorders [23,24,25,26,27]. Pregnant women are therefore particularly vulnerable, as exposure may affect fetal development and, thus, the next generation [23,25,26,27,28,29]. Some contaminants are transferred from the mother to the fetus through the placental barrier and to the newborn through breastfeeding [10,11,15,30,31,32,33].…”