Περίληψη:
Background: Maternal exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds may
affect fetal growth and development. We evaluated the association
between in utero dioxin-like activity and birth outcomes in a
prospective European mother-child study.
Methods: We measured dioxin-like activity in maternal and cord blood
plasma samples collected at delivery using the Dioxin-Responsive
Chemically Activated LUciferase eXpression (DR CALUX) bioassay in 967
mother-child pairs, in Denmark, Greece, Norway, Spain, and England.
Multiple linear regression models were used to investigate the
associations with birth weight, gestational age, and head circumference.
Results: Plasma dioxin-like activity was higher in maternal sample than
in cord samples. Birth weight was lower with medium (-58 g [95%
confidence interval (CI) = -176 to 62]) and high (-82 g [-216 to 53])
tertiles of exposure (cord blood) compared with the lowest tertile.
Gestational age was shorter by approximately half a week in the highest
compared with the lowest (-0.4 weeks [95% CI = -0.8 to -0.1]). This
association was stronger in boys than in girls, although the statistical
evidence for interaction was weak (P = 0.22). Analysis based on
CALUX-toxic equivalents expressed per milliliter of plasma showed
similar trends. We found no association between dioxin-like activity in
maternal plasma and birth outcomes.
Conclusions: Results from this international general population study
suggest an association between low-level prenatal dioxin-like activity
and shorter gestational age, particularly in boys, with weaker
associations for birth weight.
Συγγραφείς:
Vafeiadi, Marina
Agramunt, Silvia
Pedersen, Marie
Besselink,
Harrie
Chatzi, Leda
Fthenou, Eleni
Fleming, Sarah and
Hardie, Laura J.
Wright, John
Knudsen, Lisbeth E.
Nielsen,
Jeanette K. S.
Sunyer, Jordi
Carreras, Ramon
Brunborg,
Gunnar
Gutzkow, Kristine B.
Nygaard, Unni C.
Lovik, Martinus
and Kyrtopoulos, Soterios A.
Segerback, Dan
Merlo, Domenico F.
and Kleinjans, Jos C.
Vrijheid, Martine
Kogevinas, Manolis and
NewGeneris Consortium
