Association between Total and Individual PCB Congener Levels in Maternal Serum and Birth Weight of Newborns: Results from the Chiba Study of Mother and Child Health Using Weighted Quantile Sum Regression.

Akifumi Eguchi,Emiko Todaka,Masahiro Watanabe,Aya Hisada,Kenichi Sakurai,Chisato Mori,Tomoko Takahashi,Midori Yamamoto

doi:10.3390/ijerph19020694

Akifumi Eguchi, Emiko Todaka + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020694

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Abstract

Maternal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) during pregnancy is associated with a low birth weight; however, the congener-specific effects of PCB congeners are not well defined. In this study, we used maternal serum samples from the Chiba Study of Mother and Child Health (C-MACH) cohort, collected at 32 weeks of gestational age, to analyze the effects of PCB congener exposure on birth weight by examining the relationship between newborn birth weight and individual PCB congener levels in maternal serum (n = 291). The median total PCB level in the serum of mothers of male and female newborns at approximately 32 weeks of gestation was 39 and 37 ng g−1 lipid wt, respectively. The effect of the total PCB levels and the effects of PCB congener mixtures were analyzed using a linear regression model and a generalized weighted quantile sum regression model (gWQS). The birth weight of newborns was significantly associated with maternal exposure to PCB mixtures in the gWQS model. The results suggest that exposure to PCB mixtures results in low newborn birth weight. However, specific impacts of individual PCB congeners could not be related to newborn birth weight.

Highlights

Low newborn birth weight is associated with the development of various diseases, such as hypertension in later life [1,2,3,4]
Linear regression and generalized weighted quantile sum regression model (gWQS) models were used in this study, and results from the gWQS model suggested that Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) mixture exposure was associated with low newborn birth weight
It was observed that the impact on birth weight from antiestrogenic PCB congeners detected in the serum was relatively low

Summary

Introduction

Low newborn birth weight is associated with the development of various diseases, such as hypertension in later life [1,2,3,4]. (DOHaD) hypothesis states that environmental factors may adversely affect the development of the fetus, leading to several lifestyle-related diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and mental disorders [5,6,7]. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have not been manufactured since the 1970s because of their toxicity to human health. They remain in the environment and are still detected in human tissues owing to their persistent nature [9,10]. Several studies investigated the relationship between PCB exposure and low birth weight [16,17]. It was reported that the exposure to mixtures of persistent endocrine-disrupting

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