| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KAMEO Satomi Tohoku University, Graduate School of Medicine, Research Associate, 大学院・医学系研究科, 助手 (40312558)
SATOH Hiroshi Tohoku University, Graduate School of Medicine, Professor, 大学院・医学系研究科, 教授 (40125571)
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| Research Abstract |
Organochlorine pesticides are compounds widespread in the environment due to their persistence and highly lipophilic nature, and they accumulate in biological systems. Newborns are exposed to these organochlorine compounds across the placenta and through breastfeeding. In the present study, several organochlorine pesticides were analyzed in human breast milk and placenta from 20 mothers to identify the major pesticide compounds. This study was performed as part of our prospective cohort study. Healthy pregnant women were recruited with their informed consent at obstetrical wards of two hospitals in Tohoku between January 2001 and September 2003. The study protocol was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine. HCB, β-HCH, oxy-chlordane, cis-nonachlor, trans-nonachlor, p,p'-DOT, p,p'-DDE, dieldrin, and heptachlorepoxide were found from all breast milk samples and placenta samples. The relationship between pesticides in breast milk and the placenta was analyzed to examine the utilization of the placenta as the material for exposure assessment. The results showed that since there were excellent correlations of all major pesticides between breast milk samples and placenta samples, placenta was suggested to be the useful material to estimate the maternal body burden. In addition, the concentrations of some organochlorine pesticides ouch as HCB, oxy-chlordane, and trans-nonachlor, in the placenta samples had significant negative correlations with parity. This finding clearly shows that the mothers eliminate these pesticides during pregnancy and by breastfeeding into their children. The concentrations of oxy-chlordane, nonachlors, dieldrin, and heptachlorepoxide in breast milk samples and placenta samples were correlated with fish consumption ; however, HCB, HCH, and DDE had no association. These results indicated that the contribution of fish consumption to the intake of pesticides depended on the kind of pesticides.
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