Maternal blood metal levels and fetal markers of metabolic function
- DOI
- Language of the publication
- English
- Date
- 2014-11-20
- Type
- Article
- Author(s)
- Ashley-Martin, Jillian
- Dodds, Linda
- Arbuckle, Tye E.
- Ettinger, Adrienne S.
- Shapiro, Gabriel D.
- Fisher, Mandy
- Taback, Shayne
- Bouchard, Maryse F.
- Monnier, Patricia
- Dallaire, Renee
- Fraser, William D.
- Publisher
- Elsevier
Abstract
Exposure to metals commonly found in the environment has been hypothesized to be associated with measures of fetal growth but the epidemiological literature is limited. The Maternal–Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) study recruited 2001 women during the first trimester of pregnancy from 10 Canadian sites. Our objective was to assess the association between prenatal exposure to metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury) and fetal metabolic function. Average maternal metal concentrations in 1st and 3rd trimester blood samples were used to represent prenatal metals exposure. Leptin and adiponectin were measured in 1363 cord blood samples and served as markers of fetal metabolic function. Polytomous logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between metals and both high (≥90%) and low (≤10%) fetal adiponectin and leptin levels. Leptin levels were significantly higher in female infants compared to males. A significant relationship between maternal blood cadmium and odds of high leptin was observed among males but not females in adjusted models. When adjusting for birth weight z-score, lead was associated with an increased odd of high leptin. No other significant associations were found at the top or bottom 10th percentile in either leptin or adiponectin models. This study supports the proposition that maternal levels of cadmium influence cord blood adipokine levels in a sex-dependent manner. Further investigation is required to confirm these findings and to determine how such findings at birth will translate into childhood anthropometric measures.
Plain language summary
Health Canada helps to protect the health of Canadians by assessing and managing the health risks associated with exposure to environmental contaminants. This study was done in partnership with scientists at Dalhousie University and aimed to investigate the potential adverse effects of prenatal exposure to metals on fetal growth using data from the Maternal-Infant Research on Chemicals (MIREC) Study. The fetal time period is a window of enhanced susceptibility to the potential adverse effects of environmental contaminants. Previous research has suggested that maternal exposure to metals commonly found in the environment may adversely affect fetal growth. Examination of fetal markers of metabolic function provides a means for assessing the susceptibility of fetal development to environmental contaminant exposures. This research examined the relationship between prenatal exposure to four metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium) and biomarkers of metabolic function in umbilical cord blood. Individuals may be exposed to these metals through contaminated food or water, industrial emissions or cigarette smoking. Leptin and adiponectin are hormones whose levels may be predictive of childhood growth patterns. Umbilical cord blood levels of these hormones served as biomarkers of metabolic function in this study. It was observed that cord blood leptin levels were higher among female infants than male infants, while cord blood adiponectin levels were approximately the same among males and females. It was also observed that, compared to women with low exposure levels, women with high levels of exposure to cadmium were more likely to have infants with high cord blood leptin levels. This association was, however, only observed among male infants. No significant associations were observed between the other metals and these biomarkers of metabolic function. The study results suggest that prenatal exposure to some metals may have an impact on fetal metabolic development, which provides motivation to further examine the role of prenatal exposures to contaminants, such as cadmium, on childhood growth patterns in order to develop a more complete picture of their potential impact on child health and growth.
Subject
- Health,
- Health and safety