Fetal exposure to lead during pregnancy and the risk of preterm and early-term deliveries

Cheng, Lijun; Zhang, Bin; Huo, Wenqian; Cao, Zhongqiang; Liu, Wenyu; Liao, Jiaqiang; Xia, Wei; Li, Yuanyuan

doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2017.05.006

Cited by 41 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Additionally, we observed that our toxic metal component in PCA analysis was not associated with PTB. These compounds have been associated in several studies with PTB (Cheng et al 2017; Li et al 2017; Perkins et al 2014; Wang et al 2016; Yang et al 2016). Notably, however, our study captures urinary levels of Cd and Pb that are equivalent to or lower than those observed in the general US population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A growing body of evidence suggests associations between exposure to chemicals during pregnancy and an increased risk of PTB (Ferguson et al 2013; Ferguson and Chin 2017; Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Understanding Premature Birth and Assuring Healthy Outcomes 2007; Simmons et al 2010). For metals specifically, the evidence for the association between lead (Pb) and PTB is well-established (Cantonwine et al 2010; Cheng et al 2017; Jelliffe-Pawlowski et al 2006; Perkins et al 2014; Torres-Sanchez et al 1999). Arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) exposure are also associated with increased risk of PTB (Ferguson and Chin 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Urinary trace metals individually and in mixtures in association with preterm birth

Kim

Meeker

Carroll

et al. 2018

Environment International

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One in ten infants born in the United States is born preterm, or prior to 37 weeks gestation. Exposure to elevated levels of metals, such as lead and arsenic, has been linked to higher risk of preterm birth (PTB), but consequences of lower levels of exposure and less studied metals are unclear. We examined the associations between 17 urinary trace metals individually and in mixtures in relation to PTB. The LIFECODES birth cohort enrolled pregnant women at <15 weeks gestation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. We selected cases of PTB (n=99) and unmatched controls (n=291) and analyzed urine samples for a panel of trace metals (median: 26 weeks gestation). We used logistic regression models to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for PTB and subtypes of PTB based on presentation at delivery. Subtypes included spontaneous and placental PTB. We used elastic net (ENET) regularization to identify individual metals or pairwise interactions that had the strongest associations with PTB, and principal components analysis (PCA) to identify classes of exposures associated with the outcome. We observed increased odds of PTB (OR: 1.41, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.12, 1.78) in association with an interquartile range difference in urinary copper (Cu). We also observed an increased OR for selenium (OR: 1.33, 95% CI:0.98, 1.81). ENET selected Cu as the most important trace metal associated with PTB. PCA identified 3 principal components (PCs) that roughly reflected exposure to toxic metals, essential metals, and metals with seafood as a common source of exposure. PCs reflecting essential metals were associated with an increased odds of overall and spontaneous PTB. Maternal urinary copper in the third trimester was associated with increased risk of PTB, and statistical analyses for mixtures indicated that after accounting for correlation this metal was the most important statistical predictor of the outcome.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urinary trace metals individually and in mixtures in association with preterm birth

Kim

Meeker

Carroll

et al. 2018

Environment International

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“…The mean urinary lead levels were significantly higher in preterm births. In addition, among all newborns, an increase in maternal urinary lead was associated with a decrease in gestational age [3]. Lead can displace calcium because they both have similar chemical characteristics and follow analogous metabolic pathways [74].…”

Section: Lead Exposure and Female Reproductive Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is evidence of several reproductive damages in humans exposed to lead. In women, lead exposure has been associated with spontaneous abortion [1], low birth weight [2], preterm delivery [3], fetal growth restriction [4], premature rupture of membranes [5], pregnancy hypertension [6], preeclampsia [7], and gestational diabetes [8]. Maternal blood lead has also been associated with a decrease in length of gestation [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Lead on Reproductive Health

León¹,

Salas-Pacheco²

2020

Lead Chemistry

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It has been documented that lead can cause a wide range of adverse reproductive outcomes. In men, lead can reduce the libido and affect spermatogenesis reducing the quality of sperm. Other effects in exposed men include disturbance of prostatic function and damage in serum testosterone. In pregnant women, lead can cross the placenta and impair the development of the fetus. Therefore, exposed women are at risk of suffering spontaneous abortion, premature delivery, gestational diabetes mellitus, pregnancy hypertension, preeclampsia, premature rupture of membranes, intrauterine growth restriction, low weight birth, and other pregnancy complications. In both men and women, lead has been associated with infertility. Harmful effects of this heavy metal have been observed even at low levels of exposure. Thus, exposure to lead remains a public health problem, especially for reproductive health. Some strategies should be considered to prevent harmful effects of lead on both male and female reproductive systems.

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“…These non-essential metals have no known physiologic role in the human body and can be toxic if present even at low concentrations [1,27,28]. Moreover, they have been associated with preterm birth in epidemiological studies [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37], including studies in the PROTECT cohort [38]. However, essential metals, such as copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn), which are important for human health, as well as other metals, such as cesium (Cs) and antimony (Sb), that are not classified as essential or non-essential, remain understudied [39,40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Urinary Metal and Metalloid Concentrations in Association with Oxidative Stress Biomarkers

Ashrap¹,

Watkins²,

Milne³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Metal exposure has been associated with a wide range of adverse birth outcomes and oxidative stress is a leading hypothesis of the mechanism of action of metal toxicity. We assessed the relationship between maternal exposure to essential and non-essential metals and metalloids in pregnancy and oxidative stress markers, and sought to identify windows of vulnerability and effect modification by fetal sex. In our analysis of 215 women from the PROTECT birth cohort study, we measured 14 essential and non-essential metals in urine samples at three time points during pregnancy. The oxidative stress marker 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α) and its metabolite 2,3-dinor-5,6-dihydro-15-15-F2t-IsoP, as well as prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α), were also measured in the same urine samples. Using linear mixed models, we examined the main effects of metals on markers of oxidative stress as well as the visit-specific and fetal sex-specific effects. After adjustment for covariates, we found that a few urinary metal concentrations, most notably cesium (Cs) and copper (Cu), were associated with higher 8-iso-PGF2α with effect estimates ranging from 7.3 to 14.9 % for each interquartile range, increase in the metal concentration. The effect estimates were generally in the same direction at the three visits and a few were significant only among women carrying a male fetus. Our data show that higher urinary metal concentrations were associated with elevated biomarkers of oxidative stress. Our results also indicate a potential vulnerability of women carrying a male fetus.

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Fetal exposure to lead during pregnancy and the risk of preterm and early-term deliveries

Cited by 41 publications

References 39 publications

Urinary trace metals individually and in mixtures in association with preterm birth

Urinary trace metals individually and in mixtures in association with preterm birth

Effects of Lead on Reproductive Health

Maternal Urinary Metal and Metalloid Concentrations in Association with Oxidative Stress Biomarkers

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