| Determinants of Prenatal Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in an Urban Population Julie B. Herbstman,1 Andreas Sjödin,2 Benjamin J. Apelberg,3 Frank R. Witter,4 Donald G. Patterson Jr.,2 Rolf U. Halden,5 Richard S. Jones,2 Annie Park,2 Yalin Zhang,2 Jochen Heidler,5 Larry L. Needham,2 and Lynn R. Goldman5 1Columbia Children's Center for Environmental Health, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York, USA; 2Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 3Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA; 4Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA; 5Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA Abstract
Background: Recent studies have reported blood levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the U.S. population. Information about neonatal levels and about the relationship to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exposures is limited. Objectives: The objective was to characterize levels and determinants of fetal exposure to PBDEs and PCBs among newborns from Baltimore, Maryland. Methods: We analyzed umbilical cord blood for eight PBDEs and 35 PCBs from infants delivered at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Maternal and infant characteristics were abstracted from medical records. Results: Ninety-four percent of cord serum samples had quantifiable levels of at least one PBDE congener, and > 99% had at least one detectable PCB congener. PBDE concentrations in cord blood were similar to those reported in other studies from North America. Strong correlations were observed within but not across PCB and PBDE classes. Multivariate models showed that many factors independently predicted exposure to BDE-47, BDE-100, and BDE-153 and CB-118, CB-138/158, CB-153, and CB-180. Generally, infants of Asian mothers had lower PBDE and PCB levels, and infants of smokers had higher levels. Increased maternal body mass index was associated with lower levels of PCBs but not PBDEs. Levels of PCBs but not PBDEs were lower in births from married and multiparous mothers. Increased maternal age was associated with higher PCB levels but lower PBDE levels. Conclusions: Although many of the factors we investigated were independent predictors of both PBDE and PCB levels, in some cases the direction of associations was different. More research is needed to better understand the sources and pathways of PBDE exposure. Key words: dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, environmental exposure, epidemiology, fetal exposure, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, prenatal, urban. Environ Health Perspect 115:1794–1800 (2007) . doi:10.1289/ehp.10333 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 27 September 2007]
Address correspondence to L. Goldman, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Rm. E6636, Baltimore, MD 21205 USA. Telephone: (410) 614-9301. Fax: (410) 287-7075. Email: lgoldman@jhsph.edu Supplemental Material is available online at http://www.ehponline.org/members/2007/10333/suppl.pdf We thank the following people whose contributions have been essential to the completion of this work: T. Burke, J. Samet, A. McDermott, F. Curriero, E. Wells, C. Sann, T. Bernert, W. Turner, R. Quinn, C. Resnick, and the nursing staff in the Labor and Delivery Unit of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. We also thank our funders: the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Bloomberg School of Public Health Maryland Mothers and Babies Study, the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Program Research Grant given to the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, the JHU Center in Urban Environmental Health (P30ES03819) , the JHU Center for a Livable Future, the JHU Department of Epidemiology, the JHU Center for Excellence in Environmental Public Health Tracking, and the Heinz Family Foundation. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 4 April 2007 ; accepted 26 September 2007.
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