Relationship Between DDT Concentrations with Multiparity and Breastfeeding History.

Abstract

Organochlorine pesticides are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that can enter the body through environmental exposure and food consumption. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of parity and breast milk consumption on dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) concentrations in women from Southern Mexico. Gas chromatography was used to detect o,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDT, and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) in milk samples. The frequency of detection of the compounds was above 78%, finding low median concentrations of o,p'-DDT (0.010mg/kg) and p,p'-DDT (0.043mg/kg) compared to p,p'-DDE (0.672mg/kg). The median DDE/DDT ratio was 14.7. The concentrations of o,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE were significantly higher in primiparous women (0.010mg/kg and 0.868mg/kg) compared to multiparous women (0.005mg/kg and 0.583mg/kg) (p < 0.05). Breastfed donors had similar levels of o,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, and Σ-DDT compared to those who were not breastfed.