Abstract
Lead exposure among pregnant U.S. women was examined via the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009–2016 data to examine its role in bad cholesterol and oxidative stress. Mean values of the clinical markers non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-c) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), a marker of oxidative stress, were explored. In four quartiles of lead exposure, clinical makers were compared. Binary logistic regression predicted the likelihood of elevated clinical markers in pregnant compared to non-pregnant women, while linear regression was used to examine associations between blood lead levels (BLL) and the clinical markers of interest. Mean non-HDL-c was statistically significantly more elevated in pregnant women than non-pregnant women. Mean GGT levels were more statistically significantly elevated in the highest quartile of BLL exposure among pregnant women than in the lower quartiles. In binary logistic regression models, pregnant women were statistically significantly more likely to have elevated non-HDL-c, while in linear regression BLL was statistically significantly associated with GGT levels in pregnant women. Lead exposure in pregnant women is an issue of public health concern that must continue to be studied.
Highlights
Lead is a biologically persistent toxicant that can alter the health status of exposed individuals throughout their lifetime [1]
Lozoff and co-authors, in a study to determine whether breastfeeding for a long period was associated with higher infant lead concentrations, analyzed data from three studies in Costa Rica, Chile, and Detroit; the results demonstrated that when breastfeeding is the sole milk source, there is a correlation between total breastfeeding and infant blood lead levels (BLL) [5]
The hypothesis of this study was that lead exposure in pregnant women is associated with oxidative stress and bad cholesterol owing to internal exposure due to metabolic mechanisms arising from pregnancy, such as mobilization of lead from bones
Summary
Lead is a biologically persistent toxicant that can alter the health status of exposed individuals throughout their lifetime [1]. Exposure may begin as early as pregnancy, with maternal lead serving as an endogenous source of exposure to the developing fetus via maternal bone and blood. Lead can cross the placental barrier and enter the fetal blood circulation. This is of concern as under normal circumstances, between 10 to 15% of ingested lead is absorbed in adults with that number being increased in pregnant women [2]. Women who have been exposed to lead in the past can expose the developing fetus to lead poisoning via cord blood during pregnancy and after birth through breast milk [3,4]. Namihira and co-authors looked at lead transfer into human milk in Mexican women with an average blood lead of
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