Blood persistent organochlorine pesticides in pregnant women in relation to physical and environmental variables in The Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2012-06, Vol.426, p.73-82
• Main Authors: Kanazawa, Ayako, Miyasita, Chihiro, Okada, Emiko, Kobayashi, Sumitaka, Washino, Noriaki, Sasaki, Seiko, Yoshioka, Eiji, Mizutani, Futoshi, Chisaki, Youichi, Saijo, Yasuaki, Kishi, Reiko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Biological and medical sciences; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Environmental Pollutants - blood; Environmental Pollution - statistics & numerical data; Female; Humans; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - analysis; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - blood; Japan; Maternal Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Parity; Persistent organochlorine pesticides; Pesticides - analysis; Pesticides - blood; Pesticides, fertilizers and other agrochemicals toxicology; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Toxicology; Whole blood; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.02.073

The aim of this study was to document the exposure levels of pregnant women in Hokkaido to persistent organochlorine (POC) pesticides and the relationship between the body burdens of these pesticides and the study population's characteristics, such as age, pre-pregnancy body weight and calendar year in which blood was collected. From 2002 to 2005, whole blood samples were obtained from 186 pregnant women (aged 17 to 47years) from the population of 514 women registered with the Sapporo Toho hospital cohort of the Hokkaido Study. Blood samples were analyzed by GC/NCIMS and GC/HRMS to quantify 29 POC pesticides. The subjects' demographic details were obtained from medical records and self-administered questionnaires. The Jonckheere–Terpstra test was used to determine relevant trends in the chemical concentrations of these pesticides and their relationship to the subjects' demographic details. Twenty-one of the 29 targeted compounds (including pesticides that have never been used in Japan, such as Mirex, Parlar-26 and Parlar-50) were detected in whole blood samples, and their log-transformed concentrations were found to significantly correlate with each other. The concentrations of p,p′-DDD, o,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDE, Parlar-26 and Parlar-50 declined from 2002 to 2005 (p