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Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can be transferred through the placenta and breast milk to the developing human offspring, carrying immediate and delayed health risks. We sought to evaluate potential levels of exposure to POPs during critical windows of development: pregnancy and lactation. Two cross-sectional studies were carried out in villages of the states of Sonora and Sinaloa in Mexico, where high levels of POPs have been detected through environmental and human monitoring. POPs were measured in the serum of 60 fertile-aged women in the first study. Breast milk POPs concentrations were measured in a pooled sample of 50 women in the second study. This may be the first study in Mexico to report breast milk dioxins' and furans' concentrations. The most commonly detected POPs in serum were: pentachloroanisole (71 %), PCB 205 (43 %), tetrachlorobenzenes (17-33 %), p,p'DDE (21 %), and toxic lindane by-products α-HCH or β-HCH (15 %). Congeners of furans and dioxins with the highest concentrations in milk were 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF (3.42 pg/g) and OCDD (33.0 pg/g), respectively. The ∑ PCDD/Fs found in this study was lower than in other studies. Both serum and milk samples of fertile-aged women suggest that p,p'DDE and PCB 180 are prevalent local POPs, among others, that may reach developing embryos and infants via the placenta and lactation. These results can serve as a starting point to determine potential levels of exposure to POPs in the most vulnerable stages of life and to evaluate concentration trends in the process of eliminating these compounds.

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En México, al igual que en otras regiones del mundo, se presentan desafíos complejos en salud ambiental que requieren de nuevos enfoques integradores, participativos e interdisciplinarios. El propósito de este artículo es mostrar las ventajas que puede aportar el campo de la promoción de la salud al de la salud ambiental para afrontar estos desafíos. Se abordan de manera general y particularmente para el caso de México las principales características de los dos campos. Además se discuten algunas de las diferencias epistemológicas y metodológicas que dificultan el acercamiento de las dos áreas y la utilidad de un concepto o campo de promoción de la salud ambiental. Finalmente se propone un modelo conceptual que permite visualizar los principales elementos a tomar en cuenta para investigaciones o intervenciones en promoción de la salud ambiental. Y se dan ejemplos de acciones en promoción de la salud ambiental en México, usando el modelo planteado.

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