TY - JOUR
T1 - Exposure to pesticides, persistent and non − persistent pollutants in French 3.5-year-old children
T2 - Findings from comprehensive hair analysis in the ELFE national birth cohort
AU - Macheka, Linda R.
AU - Palazzi, Paul
AU - Iglesias- González, Alba
AU - Zaros, Cécile
AU - Appenzeller, Brice M.R.
AU - Zeman, Florence A.
N1 - Acknowledgments
The Elfe survey is a joint project between the French Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) and the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), in partnership with the French blood transfusion service (Etablissement français du sang, EFS, France), Santé publique France, the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE, France), the Direction générale de la santé (DGS, part of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, France), the Direction générale de la prévention des risques (DGPR, Ministry for the Environment, France), the Direction de la recherche, des études, de l’évaluation et des statistiques (DREES, Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, France), the Département des études, de la prospective et des statistiques (DEPS, Ministry of Culture, France), and the Caisse nationale des allocations familiales (CNAF, France), with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Institut national de la jeunesse et de l’éducation populaire (INJEP, France). Via the RECONAI platform, it receives a government grant managed by the National Research Agency under the “Investissements d'avenir” programme (ANR-11-EQPX-0038 and ANR-19-COHO-0001) We are grateful to the Elfe survey and Santé publique France (SpF) for the urinary biomarker measurements.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors
PY - 2024/8
Y1 - 2024/8
N2 - Introduction: Exposure to endocrine disruptors during early childhood poses significant health risks. This study examines the exposure levels of French 3.5-year-old children to various persistent and non-persistent pollutants and pesticides using hair analysis as part of the ELFE national birth cohort. Differences in sex and geographical location among the children were investigated as ppossible determinants of exposure. Methods: Exposure biomarkers from 32 chemical families were analyzed using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS in 222 hair samples from children in the ELFE cohort. Of these, 46 mother–child pairs from the same cohort provided unique insight into prenatal and postnatal exposure. Regressions, correlations and discriminate analysis were used to assess relationships between exposure and possible confounding factors. Results and Discussion: Among the biomarkers tested in children's hair samples, 69 had a detection frequency of ≥ 50 %, with 20 showing a 100 % detection rate. The most detected biomarkers belonged to the bisphenol, organochlorine and organophosphate families. Sex-specific differences were observed for 26 biomarkers, indicating the role of the child's sex in exposure levels. Additionally, regional differences were noted, with Hexachlorobenzene varying significantly across the different French regions. Nicotine presented both the highest concentration (16 303 pg/mg) and highest median concentration (81 pg/mg) measured in the children's hair. Statistically significant correlations between the levels of biomarkers found in the hair samples of the mothers and their respective children were observed for fipronil (correlation coefficient = 0.32, p = 0.03), fipronil sulfone (correlation coefficient = 0.34, p = 0.02) and azoxystrobin (correlation coefficient = 0.29, p = 0.05). Conclusions: The study highlights the elevated exposure levels of young children to various pollutants, highlighting the influence of sex and geography. Hair analysis emerges as a crucial tool for monitoring endocrine disruptors, offering insights into exposure risks and reinforcing the need for protective measures against these harmful substances.
AB - Introduction: Exposure to endocrine disruptors during early childhood poses significant health risks. This study examines the exposure levels of French 3.5-year-old children to various persistent and non-persistent pollutants and pesticides using hair analysis as part of the ELFE national birth cohort. Differences in sex and geographical location among the children were investigated as ppossible determinants of exposure. Methods: Exposure biomarkers from 32 chemical families were analyzed using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS in 222 hair samples from children in the ELFE cohort. Of these, 46 mother–child pairs from the same cohort provided unique insight into prenatal and postnatal exposure. Regressions, correlations and discriminate analysis were used to assess relationships between exposure and possible confounding factors. Results and Discussion: Among the biomarkers tested in children's hair samples, 69 had a detection frequency of ≥ 50 %, with 20 showing a 100 % detection rate. The most detected biomarkers belonged to the bisphenol, organochlorine and organophosphate families. Sex-specific differences were observed for 26 biomarkers, indicating the role of the child's sex in exposure levels. Additionally, regional differences were noted, with Hexachlorobenzene varying significantly across the different French regions. Nicotine presented both the highest concentration (16 303 pg/mg) and highest median concentration (81 pg/mg) measured in the children's hair. Statistically significant correlations between the levels of biomarkers found in the hair samples of the mothers and their respective children were observed for fipronil (correlation coefficient = 0.32, p = 0.03), fipronil sulfone (correlation coefficient = 0.34, p = 0.02) and azoxystrobin (correlation coefficient = 0.29, p = 0.05). Conclusions: The study highlights the elevated exposure levels of young children to various pollutants, highlighting the influence of sex and geography. Hair analysis emerges as a crucial tool for monitoring endocrine disruptors, offering insights into exposure risks and reinforcing the need for protective measures against these harmful substances.
KW - Biomonitoring
KW - Children
KW - Exposure biomarkers
KW - Hair analysis
KW - Organic pollutants
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85198299256&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39002332/
U2 - 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108881
DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108881
M3 - Article
C2 - 39002332
AN - SCOPUS:85198299256
SN - 0160-4120
VL - 190
JO - Environment international
JF - Environment international
M1 - 108881
ER -