Association of 3-Phenoxybenzoic Acid Exposure during Pregnancy with Maternal Outcomes and Newborn Anthropometric Measures: Results from the IoMum Cohort Study

Data de publicação: 01/02/2023

Autores da FMUP

• Claudia Camila Rodrigues Pereira Dias

  Autor

• Luís Filipe Ribeiro De Azevedo

  Autor

• Carla Maria De Almeida Ramalho

  Autor

• Elisa Oliveira Braga Keating

  Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

• Guimaraes, J
• Bracchi, I
• Pinheiro, C
• Moreira, NX
• Coelho, CM
• Pestana, D.
• Prucha, MD
• Martins, C
• Domingues, VF
• Delerue Matos, C
• Calhau, M.
• Leite, JC
• Fernandes, VC

Unidades de investigação

• Biomedicina

• Ginecologia-Obstetrícia e Pediatria

• Laboratório Associado RISE- Rede de Investigação em Saúde

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

• Medicina da Comunidade, Informação e Decisão em Saúde

• Recursos Comuns

  

  Investigador

  Guilhermina Maria Da Silva Rêgo

• RISE-Health

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

Abstract

The aims of this study were to characterize the exposure of pregnant women living in Portugal to 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) and to evaluate the association of this exposure with maternal outcomes and newborn anthropometric measures. We also aimed to compare exposure in summer with exposure in winter. Pregnant women attending ultrasound scans from April 2018 to April 2019 at a central hospital in Porto, Portugal, were invited to participate. Inclusion criteria were: gestational week between 10 and 13, confirmed fetal vitality, and a signature of informed consent. 3-PBA was measured in spot urine samples by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The median 3-PBA concentration was 0.263 (0.167; 0.458) mu g/g creatinine (n = 145). 3-PBA excretion was negatively associated with maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.049), and it was higher during the summer when compared to winter (p < 0.001). The frequency of fish or yogurt consumption was associated positively with 3-PBA excretion, particularly during the winter (p = 0.002 and p = 0.015, respectively), when environmental exposure is low. Moreover, 3-PBA was associated with levothyroxine use (p = 0.01), a proxy for hypothyroidism, which could be due to a putative 3-PBA-thyroid hormone antagonistic effect. 3-PBA levels were not associated with the anthropometric measures of the newborn. In conclusion, pregnant women living in Portugal are exposed to 3-PBA, particularly during summer, and this exposure may be associated with maternal clinical features.

Keywords

• 3-PBA; pyrethroid pesticides; pregnancy; newborn; anthropometry