Abstract
Silicone wristbands can assess multipollutant exposures in a non-invasive and minimally burdensome manner, which may be suitable for use among pregnant women. We investigated silicone wristbands as passive environmental samplers in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study, a prospective pregnancy cohort. We used wristbands to assess exposure to a broad range of organic chemicals, identified multipollutant exposure profiles using self-organizing maps (SOMs), and assessed temporal consistency and determinants of exposures during pregnancy. Participants (n = 255) wore wristbands for 1 week at 12 gestational weeks. Of 1,530 chemicals assayed, 199 were detected in at least one wristband and 16 were detected in >60% of wristbands. A median of 23 (range: 12,37) chemicals were detected in each wristband, and chemicals in commerce and personal care products were most frequently detected. A subset of participants (n=20) wore a second wristband at 24 gestational weeks, and concentrations of frequently detected chemicals were moderately correlated between time points (median intraclass correlation: 0.22; range: 0.00,0.69). Women with higher educational attainment had fewer chemicals detected in their wristbands and the total number of chemicals detected varied seasonally. Triphenyl phosphate concentrations were positively associated with nail polish use, and benzophenone concentrations were highest in summer. No clear associations were observed with other a priori relations, including certain behaviors, season, and socioeconomic factors. SOM analyses revealed 12 profiles, ranging from 2 to 149 participants, captured multipollutant exposure profiles observed in this cohort. The most common profile (n = 149) indicated that 58% of participants experienced relatively low exposures to frequently detected chemicals. Less common (n ≥ 10) and rare (n < 10) profiles were characterized by low to moderate exposures to most chemicals and very high and/or very low exposure to a subset of chemicals. Certain covariates varied across SOM profile membership; for example, relative to women in the most common profile who had low exposures to most chemicals, women in the profile with elevated exposure to galaxolide and benzyl benzoate were younger, more likely to be single, and more likely to report nail polish use. Our study illustrates the utility of silicone wristbands for measurement of multipollutant exposures in sensitive populations, including pregnant women.
Highlights
Available evidence indicates that pregnant women in the United States are exposed to many environmental pollutants, including exposures from personal care products, consumer goods, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and dietary sources [1,2,3]
Individuals wear the silicone wristbands for an established period (e.g., 1 week), during which time a wide variety of chemical pollutants are absorbed by the silicone during their typical activities; the chemicals are extracted from the wristbands and their concentrations are quantified
In order to improve our understanding of exposure mixtures in the study population, we applied the self-organizing map (SOM) algorithm to the chemical concentrations measured in the silicone wristbands worn at 12 gestational weeks and for chemicals detected in >60% of samples
Summary
Available evidence indicates that pregnant women in the United States are exposed to many environmental pollutants, including exposures from personal care products, consumer goods, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and dietary sources [1,2,3]. Over 1,500 chemicals can be measured in a single wristband, providing insight into participants’ environmental exposures to both individual chemical pollutants and multipollutant mixtures [20]. Such broad exposure assessments enable the identification of prevalent pollutants and multipollutant mixtures, which may be prioritized for targeted research or intervention. This emerging technology has been applied in several settings [15], including the assessment of exposures to flame retardants among maternal-child pairs [21] and school children [18] and the assessment of exposures to pesticides among agricultural workers [22] and non-occupationally exposed persons [23]. We sought to identify common chemical exposures and chemical exposure patterns, identify potential predictors of these exposures, and assess temporal consistency of exposures during pregnancy characterized by the silicone wristband
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