Abstract
The concept of exposome, which refers to measures that reflect all exposure events of an individual during a lifetime and how those exposures relate to disease, has opened a new approach toward children’ environmental health. This study aims to characterize concentrations of numbers of environmental pollutants in pregnant women from Asia and their children, based on chemical analysis of biological samples. We use the information from Birth Cohort Consortium of Asia (BiCCA) and focus on China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Biomarkers or metabolites of exposure to 28 environmental pollutants include heavy metals (as arsenic, cadmium, lead, manganese and mercury), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and Phthalates were measured in biological samples from mothers during pregnancy, children at birth or postnatal followup. The detection rates of exposure biomarkers were high for phthalate metabolites, but ranged widely for PFASs. The concentrations were different between cohorts for all compounds, except for cadmium. However, the biological samples used for heavy metal measurements vary depending on blood, serum or urine, and some difficulties will be encountered when directly comparing. For PFASs, Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were the most common detectable chemicals, while the concentrations gradually decreased from maternal blood during pregnancy, cord blood to childhood blood. In addition, the composition of PFASs shows a region-specific pattern, and new alternative chemicals, such as Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), have been found in recently collected biological samples. Mono-n-butyl phthalat (MnBP), Mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) and Mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) were commonly detectable phthalates, their concentrations were highest around preschool age. Here we provide the unique description of environmental pollutants including composition pattern, concentration distribution, regional differences and time trend among pregnant women and their children in Asia. It is crucial for further investigation on childrens’ health impact in consideration with exposome and international comparison. Keywords: Exposome, Birth cohort consortium of Asia, Metals, Perfluoroalkyl Substances, Phthalates
Published Version
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