Endocrine-Disrupting Organochlorine Pesticides in Human Breast Milk: Changes during Lactation

Anna Pohoryło,Agata Witczak,Hassan Abdel-Gawad

doi:10.3390/nu13010229

Anna Pohoryło, Agata Witczak + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13010229

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess infant safety associated with the occurrence of endocrine-disrupting organochlorine pesticides (OCP) in breast milk. Moreover, the association between pregnant mothers’ dietary habits and these compounds levels in breast milk was investigated. Breast milk was collected at various stages of lactation. The samples were analyzed by the GC-MS method. The OCP concentrations ranged from < limit of detection (LOD) to 6.81 ng/g lipids. The highest OCP concentrations in breast milk occurred primarily within the first month of lactation, and decreased over the lactation period. It was found that the maternal consumption of certain food products—in particular pork, beef, poultry, eggs, and dairy products—could have affected the content of 1,1’-(2,2,2-Trichloroethane-1,1-diyl)bis(4-chlorobenzene), called DDT and its metabolites in the breast milk. The levels of beta-endosulfan were positively correlated with fish and poultry consumption. The redundancy analysis indicated that the diets of the pregnant women had an important impact on pesticide residues in the breast milk. There is a potential possibility of lowering the content of organochlorine compounds in breast milk by adhering to nutritional recommendations, e.g., avoiding the excessive consumption of fish and other raw food materials of unknown origin.

Highlights

Breast milk is the first food that humans consume, from birth to a recommended minimum of six months, and it provides all of the necessary nutrients [1]
In the light of the health risk to infants, it is important to test for the presence of organochlorine pesticides in breast milk, and to look for the correlation between the presence of these compounds and the age of the mothers, body weight, number of births, duration of lactation, and nutritional habits associated with natural feeding
Our research showed that the highest organochlorine pesticide (OCP) concentrations in breast milk occurred primarily within the first month of lactation

Summary

Introduction

Breast milk is the first food that humans consume, from birth to a recommended minimum of six months, and it provides all of the necessary nutrients [1]. Breastfeeding is highly beneficial, but breast milk can transmit endocrine-disrupting organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues from the mother to the infant [2]. OCPs are characterized by semivolatility, high environmental persistence, a long half-life, and a high degree of lipophilicity. These properties contribute to adverse effects on human health; among others, this includes endocrine disruption and reproductive toxicity. Long-term exposure to OCP can lead to a variety of endocrine and reproductive disorders, including gonadal changes, changes in reproductive behavior, reduced sperm quality, an increase in organ malformations (e.g., hypospadias), testicular failure (kryptorchim), fetal defects, thyroid dysfunction, and more. Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) can disrupt human endocrine function at very low levels of exposure. It is suspected that EDCs contribute to the increased incidence of cervical tumors, tumors of the mammary gland and testes, behavioral changes, reduced

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