Pesticides are extensively used in France for both agricultural and residential uses. Although results of epidemiological studies are still controversial, exposures of pregnant women to environmental pesticides is suspected to have adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes and infant development. However, little is known about impregnation levels by pesticides among French pregnant women and the potential sources of exposure, including the residential proximity to crops. In this context, Sante publique France, the French national public health agency, has implemented a perinatal component as part of the French human biomonitoring (HBM) program. The aim of this study was to describe impregnation levels by various chemicals (metals, bisphenol A, phthalates, pesticides and persistent organic pollutants) and to identify their determinants, in French pregnant women. The presentation will focus on outcomes concerning pesticides. The study population was based on a random selection of 1 077 mothers who have been enrolled in the Elfe cohort (the French Longitudinal Study since Childhood) in 2011. Exposure biomarkers of pesticides (metabolites of atrazine, glyphosate, propoxur, chlorophenols, dialkylphosphates and pyrethroids) were measured in spot urine samples collected from pregnant woman just after her admission to the maternity unit for delivery. Simultaneously, data about potential sources of exposure to pesticides during pregnancy related to food intakes and life style characteristics were collected, as well as sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics. The presence of crops in the vicinity of pregnant woman's municipality of residence was also used to identify the determinants of exposure to pesticides. In this study, metabolites of pyrethroids were quantified in all French pregnant women, with the exception of 4-F-3-PBA. One out of two pregnant women had quantified levels of dialkylphosphates, however percentages of quantification were lower for propoxur (and its metabolite, 2-IPP), chlorophenols and herbicides (atrazine and metabolites, glyphosate and AMPA). The results of the study have shown that pyrethroids levels increased with the domestic use of pesticides during pregnancy (insecticides, anti-lice and anti-mite), the consumption of tobacco and alcohol. The possible presence of crops close to the place of residence was also related to higher pyrethroids levels. However interpretation of these findings warrants caution because of potential misclassification of exposure due to the short half-life of pesticides in the human body, glyphosate in particular. For the first time in France, this study provides a national representative description of impregnation levels by pesticides among French pregnant women and their determinants. These results will provide relevant information for Public Health actors.
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