A relationship in adrenal androgen levels between mothers and their children from a dioxin-exposed region in Vietnam

Abstract

Over the past decades, southern Vietnam has been burdened by dioxins from contaminated herbicides sprayed during the Vietnam War. In a previous study, we found that dioxin exposure decreased levels of salivary dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), an adrenal androgen, in 3-year-old children. In present study, to assess the relationship between adrenal hormones disruption in lactating mothers and in children, we compared mother-child pairs from dioxin- and nondioxin-contaminated regions. In 2010 and 2011, mother-child pairs from a dioxin hotspot region (n=37) and a non-contaminated region (n=47) were recruited and donated breast milk and serum samples for dioxin and steroid hormones determination. Mothers were 20–30years old and had given birth to their first child between 4 and 16weeks previously. One year later, saliva samples were collected from the children. Dioxin levels in breast milk were determined by gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry. Salivary DHEA, cortisol in children and androstenedione (A-dione), estradiol, cortisol, and DHEA in maternal serum were analyzed by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Concentrations of dioxin congeners in the hotspot region were 2- to 5-fold higher than in samples from the non-contaminated region. Salivary DHEA levels in children and serum A-dione levels in mothers were significantly higher in the hotspot region; no difference was found in the levels of other hormones. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the elevated hormone levels in mothers and children (r=0.62, p<0.001). Several dioxin congeners exhibited strong significant dose-response relationships with salivary DHEA and serum A-dione levels. Our findings suggest that dioxin disrupts adrenal androgens in mothers and breastfeeding children through the same mechanism.