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Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health

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A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (24 February 2023) | Viewed by 21561

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jeffrey K. Wickliffe

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Guest Editor

School of Public Health, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
Interests: environmental health; toxicology; health risk assessment; exposure assessment; biomarkers; biomonitoring; maternal and child health

Prof. Dr. Maureen Y. Lichtveld

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Guest Editor

Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Interests: environmental epidemiology, chemical and non-chemical stressors; health disparities; prenatal exposures; women’s health; social determinants of health

Dr. Hannah H. Covert

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Guest Editor

Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Interests: non-chemical stressors; environmental health literacy; risk perceptions; health disparities; community-engaged research

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Barker Hypothesis and the concept of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) provide the theoretical foundation for our current understanding that adverse effects early in development, including prenatal development, can have profound impacts on lifelong health. This not only includes nutritional deficiencies and excesses but also exposure to a variety of environmental pollutants. Prenatal exposures are especially concerning because of the rapid development and growth and increased sensitivity and vulnerability of the developing fetus. Prenatal exposure to heavy metals, organic chemicals and compounds, and pesticides can disrupt processes involved in cellular and organ development, affecting a host of maternal–child adverse health concerns including cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological, respiratory, and reproductive outcomes. Environmental pollutants may act on molecular pathways, disrupting normal function as signaling chemicals such as hormones, or may interact with non-chemical stressors, impacting prenatal health and birth outcomes.

This Special Issue focuses on our current understanding as well as gaps in our knowledge and evidence base with respect to prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants and their adverse effects on fetal development, birth outcomes, and children’s health. The Special Issue will feature scienctific advances across the research continuum.

Prof. Dr. Jeffrey K. Wickliffe
Prof. Dr. Maureen Y. Lichtveld
Dr. Hannah H. Covert
Guest Editors

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Keywords

neurodevelopment
cancer
respiratory disease
pre- and postnatal outcomes
pre-term birth
low birthweight
heavy metals
social determinants
environmental chemicals and pesticides
air and water pollution

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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8 pages, 485 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Clustering of Pediatric Brain Tumors in Texas, 2000–2017

by Thanh T. Hoang, Omar Rosales, Elyse Burgess, Philip J. Lupo, Michael E. Scheurer and Abiodun O. Oluyomi

Toxics 2023, 11(4), 351; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11040351 - 08 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1352

Abstract

Risk factors for pediatric brain tumors are largely unknown. Identifying spatial clusters of these rare tumors on the basis of residential address may provide insights into childhood socio-environmental factors that increase susceptibility. From 2000–2017, the Texas Cancer Registry recorded 4305 primary brain tumors diagnosed among children (≤19 years old). We performed a spatial analysis in SaTScan to identify neighborhoods (census tracts) where the observed number of pediatric brain tumors was higher than expected. Within each census tract, the number of pediatric brain tumors was summed on the basis of residential address at diagnosis. The population estimate from the 2007–2011 American Community Survey of 0- to 19-year-olds was used as the at-risk population. p-values were calculated using Monte Carlo hypothesis testing. The age-standardized rate was 54.3 per 1,000,000. SaTScan identified twenty clusters, of which two were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Some of the clusters identified in Texas spatially implicated potential sources of environmental risk factors (e.g., proximity to petroleum production processes) to explore in future research. This work provides hypothesis-generating data for further investigations of spatially relevant risk factors of pediatric brain tumors in Texas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health)

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14 pages, 898 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prenatal Mercury Exposure and Infant Weight Trajectories in a UK Observational Birth Cohort

by Kyle Dack, Robyn E. Wootton, Caroline M. Taylor and Sarah J. Lewis

Toxics 2023, 11(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11010010 - 22 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1440

Abstract

Mercury is highly toxic metal found in trace quantities in common foods. There is concern that exposure during pregnancy could impair infant development. Epidemiological evidence is mixed, but few studies have examined postnatal growth. Differences in nutrition, exposures, and the living environment after birth may make it easier to detect a negative impact from mercury toxicity on infant growth. This study includes 544 mother–child pairs from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Blood mercury was measured in early pregnancy and infant weight at 10 intervals between 4 and 61 months. Mixed-effect models were used to estimate the change in infant weight associated with prenatal mercury exposure. The estimated difference in monthly weight gain was −0.02 kg per 1 standard deviation increase in Hg (95% confidence intervals: −0.10 to 0.06 kg). When restricted to the 10th decile of Hg, the association with weight at each age level was consistently negative but with wide confidence intervals. The lack of evidence for an association may indicate that at Hg levels in this cohort (median 1.9 µg/L) there is minimal biological impact, and the effect is too small to be either clinically relevant or detectable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health)

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16 pages, 850 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prenatal Metal Exposures and Associations with Kidney Injury Biomarkers in Children

by Maria D. Politis, Meizhen Yao, Chris Gennings, Marcela Tamayo-Ortiz, Damaskini Valvi, Seunghee Kim-Schulze, Jingjing Qi, Chitra Amarasiriwardena, Ivan Pantic, Mari Cruz Tolentino, Guadalupe Estrada-Gutierrez, Jason H. Greenberg, Martha M. Téllez-Rojo, Robert O. Wright, Alison P. Sanders and Maria José Rosa

Toxics 2022, 10(11), 692; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10110692 - 16 Nov 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2193

Abstract

Prenatal exposure to arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) may be nephrotoxic, yet limited studies have examined subclinical kidney injury biomarkers in children. We assessed whether metal exposure in the second trimester (2T), a crucial time of kidney development, is associated with altered urine kidney injury and function biomarkers in preadolescent children. Analyses included 494 children participating in a birth cohort study in Mexico City. Concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb were measured from pregnant women in 2T blood and urine, and Hg in urine only. Kidney biomarkers were measured from children in urine at age 8–12 years. We assessed the associations between individual metals and (1) kidney biomarkers using linear regression and (2) a multi-protein kidney mixture using weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression. Associations of separate urine and blood metal mixtures with individual kidney biomarkers were assessed via WQS. Within the multi-protein mixture, the association with increased urinary As was predominated by urine alpha-1-microglobulin (A1M), interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP10), and fatty acid binding protein 1; the association with increased urinary Cd was predominated by A1M, clusterin, and albumin. The urine metal mixture was associated with increased albumin (0.23 ng/mL; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.10, 0.37), IP10 (0.15 ng/mL; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.28), and cystatin C (0.17 ng/mL; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.31); these associations were mainly driven by urinary As and Cd. We observed null associations between prenatal blood or urine metal mixtures and estimated glomerular filtration rate. Higher prenatal urinary metals, individually and as a mixture were associated with altered kidney injury biomarkers in children. Further research and longer participant follow-up are required to ascertain the risk of kidney disease later in life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health)

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13 pages, 822 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biochemical Parameters of Female Wistar Rats and Their Offspring Exposed to Inorganic Mercury in Drinking Water during the Gestational and Lactational Periods

by Maria Eduarda A. Galiciolli, Taíse F. Pedroso, Mariana Mesquita, Vitor A. Oliveira, Maria E. Pereira and Cláudia S. Oliveira

Toxics 2022, 10(11), 664; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10110664 - 05 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1253

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of inorganic mercury (Hg²⁺) exposure on biochemical parameters of dams and their offspring exposed to metal in drinking water. Female Wistar rats were exposed to 0, 10, and 50 µg Hg²⁺/mL (as HgCl₂) for 42 days corresponding to gestational (21 days) and lactational (21 days) periods. The offspring were sacrificed on postnatal days 10, 20, 30, and 40. Dams exposed to Hg²⁺ presented a decrease in water intake in gestation [total: F(2,19) = 15.84; p ≤ 0.0001; daily: F(2,21) = 12.71; p = 0.0002] and lactation [total: F(2,19) = 4.619; p = 0.024; daily: F(2,21) = 5.309; p = 0.0136] without alteration in food intake. Dams exposed to 50 µg Hg²⁺/mL had an increase in kidney total [F(2,21) = 8.081; p = 0.0025] and relative [F(2,21) = 14.11; p = 0.0001] weight without changes in biochemical markers of nephrotoxicity. Moreover, dams had an increase in hepatic [F(2,10) = 3.847; p = 0.0577] and renal [F(2,11) = 6.267; p = 0.0152] metallothionein content concomitantly with an increase in renal Hg levels after Hg²⁺ exposure. Regarding offspring, the exposure to Hg²⁺ in utero and breast milk increased the relative liver [F(2,18) = 5.33; p = 0.0152] and kidney [F(2,18) = 3.819; p = 0.0415] weight only on the postnatal day 40. In conclusion, dams were able to handle the Hg²⁺ avoiding the classic Hg²⁺ toxic effects as well as protecting the offspring. We suggest that this protection is related to the hepatic and renal metallothionein content increase. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health)

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14 pages, 502 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Association between Mercury and Lead Exposure and Liver and Kidney Function in Pregnant Surinamese Women Enrolled in the Caribbean Consortium for Research in Environmental and Occupational Health (CCREOH) Environmental Epidemiologic Cohort Study

by Sheila A. R. Kort, Jeffrey Wickliffe, Arti Shankar, Martin Shafer, Ashna D. Hindori-Mohangoo, Hannah H. Covert, Maureen Lichtveld and Wilco Zijlmans

Toxics 2022, 10(10), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10100584 - 04 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1910

Abstract

Exposure to mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) may have an effect on pregnant women. We assessed the effect of exposure to mercury and lead on liver and kidney functions in a subcohort of pregnant women who participated in the Caribbean Consortium for Research in Environmental and Occupational Health (CCREOH)—Meki Tamara, study. From 400 women aged 16–46 living in rural, urban, and interior regions of Suriname, we measured blood mercury and blood lead levels. Creatinine, urea, and cystatin C were measured to assess kidney function, and aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) were measured to assess liver function. Education, region, and ethnicity showed significant differences for both blood mercury and lead levels, which all had p-values < 0.001. Creatinine and urea were elevated with higher mercury blood levels. Our findings also suggest a relationship between high mercury blood levels and potential harmful effects on liver and kidney function. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health)

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9 pages, 1244 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Bisphenol A in Pregnant Women from 10 Caribbean Countries

by Martin S. Forde, Suzanne Côté, Elhadji A. Laouan Sidi, Éric Gaudreau and Pierre Ayotte

Toxics 2022, 10(10), 556; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10100556 - 22 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1544

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA), a phenolic chemical incorporated into many plastic products, has been found to act as an endocrine disruptor that potentially is linked to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Prenatal BPA concentration levels were assessed in 10 English-speaking Caribbean countries by randomly selecting 15 maternal urine samples from approximately 50 pregnant women samples collected in each island and then comparing the findings with comparable data from Canada and the U.S. BPA was detected in all samples ranging from a low geometric mean of 1.46 μg/L (St. Lucia) to a high of 4.88 μg/L (St. Kitts & Nevis). All of the Caribbean islands sampled had geometric mean concentration levels that were higher than those recorded in two Canadian biomonitoring surveys (1.26 μg/L and 0.80 μg/L) and the U.S. NHANES survey (1.39 μg/L). This first biomonitoring survey of BPA concentration levels in maternal urine samples taken from Caribbean countries clearly points to the need for Caribbean governments and public health officials to first engage in legislative and regulatory efforts to ban or minimize the importation and use of BPA products used the Caribbean and, second, to continue to conduct biomonitoring surveys so as to ensure that these laws and regulations are indeed leading to a decrease of BPA concentrations in Caribbean populations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health)

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12 pages, 889 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Intrauterine and Extrauterine Environmental PM_2.5 Exposure Is Associated with Overweight/Obesity (O/O) in Children Aged 6 to 59 Months from Lima, Peru: A Case-Control Study

by Valeria M. Paz-Aparicio, Vilma Tapia, Bertha Vanessa Vasquez-Apestegui, Kyle Steenland and Gustavo F. Gonzales

Toxics 2022, 10(8), 487; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10080487 - 22 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1722

Abstract

There is evidence that PM_2.5 could be obesogenic. Lima is one of the most polluted cities in South America, with an increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. This study aimed to determine the association between PM_2.5 exposure of children aged 6 to 59 months and being overweight or obese (O/O) in a significant dataset survey. Cases were defined when weight for height Z-score (WHZ) was >2 standard deviations (SD) from the mean, for each sex. A control was defined when WHZ was between ±2 SD. We used a conditional logistic regression model to calculate the odds ratio (OR) between extrauterine and intrauterine PM_2.5 exposure and O/O. Extrauterine PM_2.5 exposure was evaluated as a 6-month PM_2.5 mean prior to the survey. We found a significant association between O/O and extrauterine (OR: 1.57, 1.51–1.63) and intrauterine (OR: 1.99, 1.88–2.12) PM_2.5 exposure for an increment of 10 μg/m³. The ORs increased as the quartile increased in both exposures. We observed a higher association in children aged 6–11 months (OR: 3.07, 2.84–3.31). In conclusion, higher levels of PM_2.5 in Lima and Callao were associated with cases of O/O in children from 6 to 59 months, with the association higher for prenatal exposure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health)

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17 pages, 346 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prenatal Exposure to Mercury, Manganese, and Lead and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Suriname: A Population-Based Birth Cohort Study

by Vinoj H. Sewberath Misser, Ashna D. Hindori-Mohangoo, Arti Shankar, Jeffrey K. Wickliffe, Maureen Y. Lichtveld and Dennis R. A. Mans

Toxics 2022, 10(8), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10080464 - 11 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1902

Abstract

Globally, adverse birth outcomes are increasingly linked to prenatal exposure to environmental contaminants, such as mercury, manganese, and lead. This study aims to assess an association between prenatal exposure to mercury, manganese, and lead and the occurrence of adverse birth outcomes in 380 pregnant women in Suriname. The numbers of stillbirths, preterm births, low birth weights, and low Apgar scores were determined, as well as blood levels of mercury, manganese, lead, and relevant covariates. Descriptive statistics were calculated using frequency distributions. The associations between mercury, manganese, and lead blood levels, on the one hand, and adverse birth outcomes, on the other hand, were explored using contingency tables, tested with the χ²-test (Fisher’s exact test), and expressed with a p value. Multivariate logistic regression models were computed to explore independent associations and expressed as (adjusted) odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The findings of this study indicate no statistically significant relationship between blood mercury, manganese, or lead levels and stillbirth, preterm birth, low birth weight, and low Apgar score. However, the covariate diabetes mellitus (aOR 5.58, 95% CI (1.38–22.53)) was independently associated with preterm birth and the covariate hypertension (aOR 2.72, 95% CI (1.081–6.86)) with low birth weight. Nevertheless, the observed high proportions of pregnant women with blood levels of mercury, manganese, and lead above the reference levels values of public health concern warrants environmental health research on risk factors for adverse birth outcomes to develop public health policy interventions to protect pregnant Surinamese women and their newborns from potential long-term effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health)

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19 pages, 452 KiB

Open AccessReview

Health Outcomes in Children Associated with Prenatal and Early-Life Exposures to Air Pollution: A Narrative Review

by Roya Gheissari, Jiawen Liao, Erika Garcia, Nathan Pavlovic, Frank D. Gilliland, Anny H. Xiang and Zhanghua Chen

Toxics 2022, 10(8), 458; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10080458 - 08 Aug 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3439

Abstract

(1) Background: The developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis links adverse fetal exposures with developmental mal-adaptations and morbidity later in life. Short- and long-term exposures to air pollutants are known contributors to health outcomes; however, the potential for developmental health effects of air pollution exposures during gestation or early-childhood have yet to be reviewed and synthesized from a DOHaD lens. The objective of this study is to summarize the literature on cardiovascular and metabolic, respiratory, allergic, and neuropsychological health outcomes, from prenatal development through early childhood, associated with early-life exposures to outdoor air pollutants, including traffic-related and wildfire-generated air pollutants. (2) Methods: We conducted a search using PubMed and the references of articles previously known to the authors. We selected papers that investigated health outcomes during fetal or childhood development in association with early-life ambient or source-specific air pollution exposure. (3) Results: The current literature reports that prenatal and early-childhood exposures to ambient and traffic-related air pollutants are associated with a range of adverse outcomes in early life, including cardiovascular and metabolic, respiratory and allergic, and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Very few studies have investigated associations between wildfire-related air pollution exposure and health outcomes during prenatal, postnatal, or childhood development. (4) Conclusion: Evidence from January 2000 to January 2022 supports a role for prenatal and early-childhood air pollution exposures adversely affecting health outcomes during development. Future studies are needed to identify both detrimental air pollutants from the exposure mixture and critical exposure time periods, investigate emerging exposure sources such as wildfire, and develop feasible interventional tools. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health)

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12 pages, 311 KiB

Open AccessPerspective

Electronic Cigarette Use during Pregnancy: Is It Harmful?

by M. J. Ruzmyn Vilcassim, Samuel Stowe, Rachel Majumder, Akila Subramaniam and Rachel G. Sinkey

Toxics 2023, 11(3), 278; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11030278 - 18 Mar 2023

Viewed by 3226

Abstract

Although combustible cigarette smoking rates have declined in recent years, alternative tobacco product use, particularly electronic cigarette use (“vaping”), has increased among young adults. Recent studies indicate that vaping during pregnancy is on the rise, possibly due to the perception that it is a safer alternative to combustible cigarette smoking. However, e-cigarette aerosols may contain several newer, potentially toxic compounds, including some known developmental toxicants that may adversely impact both the mother and the fetus. However, there is paucity of studies that have examined the effects of vaping during pregnancy. While the adverse perinatal outcomes of cigarette smoking during pregnancy are well established, the specific risks associated with inhaling vaping aerosols during pregnancy requires more research. In this article, we discuss the existing evidence and knowledge gaps on the risks of vaping during pregnancy. Studies that investigate vaping-associated systemic exposure and its effects (i.e., biomarker analyses) and maternal and neonatal clinical health outcomes are needed to reach more robust conclusions. We particularly emphasize the need to go beyond comparative studies with cigarettes, and advocate for research that objectively evaluates the safety of e-cigarettes and other alternative tobacco products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants: Effects on Fetal Development, Birth Outcomes and Children’s Health)

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