Perfluoroalkyl substances in human milk: A first survey in Italy

Abstract

Due to their widespread diffusion, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been frequently found in the environment and in several animal species. It has been demonstrated that they can easily reach also humans, mainly through diet. Being lactation a major route of elimination of these contaminants, their occurrence in human milk is of particular interest, especially considering that it generally represents the unique food source for newborns. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the two most important compounds of this family, have been frequently found in human milk at variable concentrations, but still limited data are available. The present study, the first conducted in Italy capable to detect these pollutants at ultra-trace levels by UPLC-MS/MS, confirmed the role of lactation as a relevant source of exposure for breastfed children. The measured concentrations ranged between 15 and 288 ng/L for PFOS and between 24 and 241 ng/L for PFOA. Moreover, mean concentrations and frequencies of both analytes resulted higher in milk samples provided by primiparous women, suggesting that the risk of intake might be higher for first-borns. Finally, comparing these results with previous data, PFOS gradual decrease over time since year 2000 was confirmed.

Changes in Serum Concentrations of Maternal Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances over the Course of Pregnancy and Predictors of Exposure in a Multiethnic Cohort of Cincinnati, Ohio Pregnant Women during 2003–2006

“…14,21,35,37,43,55,63−72 Consistent with our findings, the duration of being breast-fed was also positively associated with serum PFOA concentrations among 6–8 year-old girls in Greater Cincinnati (N = 353) and the San Francisco Bay Area (N = 351). 48 …”

Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFASs): Environmental challenges

“…Numerous PFASs have been detected in breast milk, though in concentrations much lower than in the mother's blood plasma [58,67,77,93,178,[186][187][188][189][190][191]. Lactational transfer (and baby formulations [94]) can nevertheless be the primary source of exposure to PFASs, mainly PFOS, for infants [60].…”

“…; d: [5, 16, 88]; e: [89]; f: reduced triiodothyronine (T3) level [89] ; g: PFOA gavage, ng/kg bw /day [26,90,91]; h: (TDIs, ng/g bw /day)[45]; i:[87]; j:[92]; k: ng/mL[93][94][95]; l:[14,47] m:[96]; n: [5, 41]; o: [5]; p: 40 g/kg bw intravenous (iv) emulsion[97], i.e. ~1.2 10 9 ng/mL serum (~65 mL blood/kg bw , Hct ~50%); q: liquid ventilation ~200 mL/kg bw over ~80 h[98]; r: 2.7 g C 8 F 17 Br/kg bw emulsion iv[97], or ~70 10 6 ng/mL serum (70 kg patient, 5 L blood, hematocrit 45%); s: F-octyl bromide, produced by telomerization, 99.9% pure; t: 7.7 g/kg bw , mice[99]; u: rodents[100]; v: ng/mL blood serum; w:[101]; x: [76, 102]; y: [87]; z: ng/g liver [52, 53]; aa: serum level gavage…”

Maternal serum perfluoroalkyl substances during pregnancy and duration of breastfeeding

“…However, Fei et. al did not control for prior breastfeeding duration (Fei et al, 2010), which is an important route of maternal PFAS excretion (Barbarossa et al, 2013; Mondal et al, 2014) and an important predictor of future breastfeeding success (Nagy et al, 2001; Whalen and Cramton, 2010). …”