Characterization of Chemical Exposures in a Metropolitan Atlanta African American Birth Cohort Using Mass Spectrometry-Based Methods

摘要

Only a few population-based studies have been able to characterize environmental toxicant exposures in the United States. However, no such study has been conducted in the Deep South/Southeast, despite the fact that this region differs from others in climate, housing, population density, culture, and racial/ethnic composition. Little is known about how the pre- and post-natal exposomes of African American (AA) mother-infant pairs affect health and development because prospective studies examining these complex relationships are rare. We conducted a birth cohort study in a socioeconomically (SES) diverse pregnant AA population residing in metropolitan Atlanta. Using mass spectrometric methods, we characterized a portion of the exposome in a subset (N=56) of participants in order to understand the prevalence of exposures in this cohort. We measured concentrations of a broad suite of environmental toxicants in blood and urine samples including toxic heavy metals, brominated flame retardants, persistent pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, as well as the metabolic forms of phenols, phthalates, parabens, nicotine, current-use pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The metabolites of some phthalates, parabens, and pesticides were found to be significantly higher in this cohort than the general U.S. population, with lower SES participants tending to have higher levels. Our study is the first to characterize the environmental chemical exposome in an AA population in the Deep South/Southeast. The data suggest that environmental toxicant exposures are pervasive across metropolitan Atlanta and must be characterized further.