Assessment of exposure to trace metals in a cohort of pregnant women from an urban center by urine analysis in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy

Abstract

Prenatal exposure to trace metals, whether they are essential, non-essential, or toxic, must be assessed for their potential health effects in the offspring. Herein is reported an approach to this end which involved collection of urine samples during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy from 489 mothers from Sabadell (Catalonia, Spain), a highly industrialized town. These samples were analyzed for cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), arsenic (As), molybdenum (Mo), cadmium (Cd), antimonium (Sb), cesium (Cs), thallium (Tl), and lead (Pb). An acid digestion method was developed and validated for inductively coupled plasma quadruple mass spectrometry (Q-ICP-MS) analysis of these 12 metals. The median concentrations of metals ranged from 0.13 to 290 μg/g creatinine, the highest levels were found for Zn and the lowest for Th. The mean concentrations of most metals except As, Ni, Th, and Pb showed statistically significant differences between both trimesters. The concentrations of Mo, Se, Cd, Cs, and Sb were higher in the first than in the third trimester, whereas the opposite was found for Co, Cu, and Zn. The concentrations of all metals in both sampling periods showed statistically significant correlations (p<0.01 for Mo and Cu, p<0.001 for the others). The significant correlations of metal urine concentrations in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy suggest that the observed differences between both periods are related to physiological changes. Accordingly, the measured urine concentrations during either the first or third trimesters can be used as estimates of exposure during pregnancy and can serve as markers for prenatal intake of these metals in the studied cohort.

Maternal exposure to alkali, alkali earth, transition and other metals: Concentrations and predictors of exposure

“…Results were consistent with cesium concentrations reported by Fort et al (2014) in a study focusing on pregnant women (median 8.0 mg/g creatinine for the first trimester and 6.8 mg/g creatinine for the third trimester).…”

“…There were a small number of participants with urinary antimony concentrations above the recently established CDC range for the United States population (0.12e0.36 mg/g creatinine adjusted) and also above 1 mg/L (<0.5e0.6 mg/g cr) which is considered elevated (Priestly and Sim, 2014). Concentrations of maternal urinary antimony in the present study were lower than those reported by Fort et al (2014) and Forns et al (2014) from pregnant women during both their first and third trimesters (median 0.39 25thÀ75th percentile 0.28e0.65 ng/mL and 0.34 0.28e0.51 ng/ml, respectively).…”

Association of Urinary Cesium with Breast Cancer Risk

“…In a sample from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), it was 1.51 (µg/g of creatinine) (median) (Paschal et al, 1998), whereas the US CDC's Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals showed 4.77 (µg/g of creatinine) (median) among women (Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC), 2014). In a Spain female population, the urinary cesium level was 8.0 (µg/g of creatinine) (median) (Fort et al, 2014). In the present study, the level of urinary cesium in the control group was 19.29 (µg/g of creatinine) (median), which is the first report in China, higher than that in other populations.…”

Evaluation of atmospheric inputs as possible sources of antimony in pregnant women from urban areas

“…Inhalation of PM may be a source of these metals for human populations. Urine is an adequate matrix for heavy metals biomonitoring (Fort et al, 2014) and can be collected without invasive methods. The concentrations of Sb and Cu in women at any pregnancy stage provide representative results for the whole pregnancy period (Fort et al, 2014).…”