Widespread Exposure to Emerging and Previously Unmeasured Chemicals in Commerce in Pregnant women Across the US

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Prenatal chemical exposures are ubiquitous, can influence maternal, fetal and child health, and lead to adverse pregnancy and child health outcomes. The NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, –comprised of geographically, racially, and ethnically diverse prospective pregnancy and birth cohorts, provides an unparalleled opportunity for understanding environmental exposures among US pregnant women. Our study applies a new and efficient biomonitoring method for quantifying 100 priority chemicals in commerce among pregnant women and characterizes predictors of prenatal exposures. METHODS: We developed methods to prioritize and measure 148 chemicals and their metabolites in eight priority classes in urine: pesticides (30), environmental phenols (17), parabens (6), organophosphate flame retardants/esters (OPFRs/OPEs) (9), phthalates/alternative plasticizers (31), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (11), aromatic amines (42), and tobacco biomarkers (2). Using HPLC-MS/MS methodology, we analyzed 172 urine samples from pregnant women in nine of 72 ECHO pregnancy cohorts from five US states (CA, GA, IL, NH, NY) and Puerto Rico, representing a broad range of demographic characteristics as well as recruitment and sample collection strategies. We calculated detection frequencies and descriptive statistics for concentrations and assessed predictors by estimating associations of sociodemographic and sample collection characteristics with creatinine-standardized analyte concentrations. RESULTS:We detected 56 analytes in greater than 50% of samples (6 pesticides, 6 environmental phenols, 3 parabens, 2 OPFRs/OPEs, 18 phthalates/alternative plasticizers, 10 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and 11 aromatic amines). Forty-two analytes were not detected in any sample. Among widely detected analytes were three pesticides (two neonicotinoids and a metabolite of chlorpyrifos), BPS (a BPA replacement), several previously unmeasured phthalate metabolites, melamine and cyanuric acid. For many analytes, concentrations varied by cohort/location. CONCLUSIONS:Our study is the largest to date to measure these mostly understudied chemicals for which we found widespread exposure in a diverse sample of U.S. pregnant women. KEYWORDS: Chemical exposures, Phthalates, Phenols, Pesticides, Children's environmental health, Pregnancy outcomes