Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolite concentrations in three pregnancy cohorts from 7 U.S. study
Erin E Masterson1, Anne M Riederer1, Christine T Loftus1
1Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Insights
Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is widespread in the U.S. This study measured PAH metabolites in pregnant individuals, finding ubiquitous exposure and highlighting the need to understand health impacts on children.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Toxicology
- Reproductive Health
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is linked to adverse birth and developmental outcomes.
- Understanding exposure levels is crucial for mitigating risks to child health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize prenatal exposure to specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) across diverse U.S. populations.
- To identify potential variations in exposure based on geographic location and socioeconomic factors.
Main Methods:
- Measured 12 mono-hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PAHs) of 7 PAHs in mid-pregnancy urine from 1,892 participants across three U.S. consortium cohorts (CANDLE, TIDES, GAPPS).
- Analyzed OH-PAH concentrations by study site, socioeconomic characteristics, and pregnancy stage.
- Reported intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for repeated measures in a subset of participants.
Main Results:
- Ubiquitous exposure to target PAHs was observed across all study sites.
- 2-hydroxynaphthalene showed the highest average concentrations, with the CANDLE cohort exhibiting the highest levels for most metabolites.
- Socioeconomic factors showed inconsistent associations with PAH metabolite concentrations, varying by site and specific metabolite.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal exposure to low molecular weight PAHs is a widespread issue in the U.S.
- Further research is needed to identify PAH sources and elucidate their impact on pediatric health outcomes from early life exposures.
Objective:
Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is associated with adverse birth and developmental outcomes in children. We aimed to describe prenatal PAH exposures in a large, multisite U.S. consortium.
Methods:
We measured 12 mono-hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PAHs) of 7 PAHs (naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene, benzo(c)phenanthrene, chrysene, benz(a)anthracene) in mid-pregnancy urine of 1,892 pregnant individuals from the ECHO PATHWAYS consortium cohorts: CANDLE (n = 988; Memphis), TIDES (n = 664; Minneapolis, Rochester, San Francisco, Seattle) and GAPPS (n = 240; Seattle and Yakima, WA). We described concentrations of 8 OH-PAHs of non-smoking participants (n = 1,695) by site, socioeconomic characteristics, and pregnancy stage (we report intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for n = 677 TIDES participants).
Results:
Exposure to the selected PAHs was ubiquitous at all sites. 2-hydroxynaphthalene had the highest average concentrations at all sites. CANDLE had the highest average concentrations of most metabolites. Among non-smoking participants, we observed some patterns by income, education, and race but these were not consistent and varied by site and metabolite. ICCs of repeated OH-PAH measures from TIDES participants were ≤ 0.51.
Conclusion:
In this geographically-diverse descriptive analysis of U.S. pregnancies, we observed ubiquitous exposure to low molecular weight PAHs, highlighting the importance of better understanding PAH sources and their pediatric health outcomes attributed to early life PAH exposure.
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