DDE and PCS serum concentration in maternal blood and their adult female offspring

摘要

Background: Dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (DDE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be passed from mother to offspring through placental transfer or breast feeding. Aim: To test whether maternal serum levels of DDE and PCB can predict concentrations in adult offspring. Methods: The Michigan Fisheaters' Study includes mothers and their offspring. DDE and PCB concentrations were determined in 136 adult daughters of Michigan fisheaters. Prenatal exposures were estimated based on the DDE and PCB serum levels of their mothers measured between 1973 and 1991. To investigate the transfer of these chemicals, linear mixed effects models are applied. Adult levels (wet-based and lipid-adjusted) in female offspring are regressed on estimated perinatal or maternal serum concentrations in 1979-1982 or 1989-1991, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: DDE concentrations in offspring after, on average, 40 years are primarily attributable to maternal or perinatal serum levels, age, and birth order. For PCBs, maternal and prenatal levels and fish consumption, in that order, contributed to adult concentrations in female offspring. Conclusion: Maternal exposure to DDE and PCB in the last century seems to have introduced an exposure disadvantage in their adult offspring.