Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China; Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA.
Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Lancet Planet Health. 2017 Sep;1(6):e230-e241. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(17)30094-3. Epub 2017 Sep 7.
Vanadium, an important pollutant produced from anthropogenic activities, has been suggested to be embryotoxic and fetotoxic in animal studies. However, little is known about its effects on humans. We aimed to assess the association of prenatal exposure to vanadium with the risk of adverse birth outcomes in babies born to women in China.
For this population-based cohort study, the Healthy Baby Cohort, women were recruited from three cities in Hubei Province, China. Women included in this analysis were recruited from Wuhan Women and Children Medical Care Center, Wuhan. We measured urinary concentrations of vanadium and other metals simultaneously using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We used multivariable logistic regressions, with adjustment for potential confounders, to estimate the associations of natural logarithm transformed creatinine-corrected urinary vanadium (Ln-vanadium) concentrations as continuous variables and categorised into quartiles (Q; Q1: ≤0·84 μg/g creatinine, Q2: 0·84-1·40 μg/g creatinine, Q3: 1·40-2·96 μg/g creatinine, Q4: >2·96 μg/g creatinine, with the lowest quartile set as reference) with preterm delivery, early-term delivery, low birthweight, and being small for gestational age. We applied restricted cubic spline models to evaluate the dose-response relationships.
Data from 7297 women recruited between Sept 22, 2012, and Oct 22, 2014, were included in this study. Urinary Ln-vanadium concentrations showed non-linear dose-response relationships with risk of preterm delivery (S-shaped, p<0·0001) and low birthweight (J-shaped, p=0·0001); the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for increasing quartiles of urinary vanadium were 1·76 (95% CI 1·05-2·95) for Q2, 3·17 (1·96-5·14) for Q3, and 8·86 (5·66-13·86) for Q4 for preterm delivery, and 2·29 (95% CI 1·08-4·84) for Q2, 3·22 (1·58-6·58) for Q3, and 3·56 (1·79-7·10) for Q4 for low birthweight. Ln-vanadium concentrations were linearly associated with the risk of early-term delivery (linear, p<0·0001) and being small for gestational age (linear, p=0·0027), with adjusted ORs of 1·15 (95% CI 1·10-1·21) for early-term delivery and 1·12 (1·04-1·21) for being small for gestational age per unit increase in Ln-vanadium concentrations.
Our findings reveal a relationship between prenatal exposure to higher levels of vanadium and increased risk of adverse birth outcomes, suggesting that vanadium might be a potential toxic metal for human beings. Further studies are needed to replicate the observed associations and investigate the interaction effects of prenatal exposure to different metals on adverse birth outcomes.
National Key R&D Plan of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Key Laboratory of Environment and Health.
钒是一种重要的人为活动产生的污染物，动物研究表明其具有胚胎毒性和胎儿毒性。然而，目前对于其在人类中的影响知之甚少。我们旨在评估中国妇女产前暴露于钒与婴儿不良出生结局风险之间的关系。
在这项基于人群的队列研究——健康婴儿队列中，招募了来自中国湖北省三个城市的女性。本分析中纳入的女性是从武汉妇女儿童医疗保健中心招募的。我们使用电感耦合等离子体质谱法同时测量了尿液中的钒和其他金属浓度。我们使用多变量逻辑回归，在调整了潜在混杂因素后，估计了自然对数变换的肌酐校正尿钒（Ln-钒）浓度作为连续变量的关联，并将其分为四分位数（Q；Q1：≤0.84μg/g 肌酐，Q2：0.84-1.40μg/g 肌酐，Q3：1.40-2.96μg/g 肌酐，Q4：>2.96μg/g 肌酐，以最低四分位数为参考）与早产、足月产、低出生体重和小于胎龄儿的关系。我们应用限制立方样条模型来评估剂量-反应关系。
本研究纳入了 2012 年 9 月 22 日至 2014 年 10 月 22 日期间招募的 7297 名女性的数据。尿液 Ln-钒浓度与早产（S 型，p<0.0001）和低出生体重（J 型，p=0.0001）的风险呈非线性剂量-反应关系；尿钒四分位数增加的调整比值比（ORs）分别为 Q2 为 1.76（95%CI 1.05-2.95），Q3 为 3.17（1.96-5.14），Q4 为 8.86（5.66-13.86），Q2 为 2.29（95%CI 1.08-4.84），Q3 为 3.22（1.58-6.58），Q4 为 3.56（1.79-7.10）。Ln-钒浓度与足月产（线性，p<0.0001）和小于胎龄儿（线性，p=0.0027）的风险呈线性相关，调整后的 OR 分别为 1.15（95%CI 1.10-1.21）和 1.12（1.04-1.21），每单位 Ln-钒浓度增加，早产和小于胎龄儿的风险就会增加。
我们的研究结果表明，产前暴露于较高水平的钒与不良出生结局的风险增加之间存在关联，这表明钒可能是人类的一种潜在毒性金属。需要进一步的研究来复制观察到的关联，并研究产前暴露于不同金属对不良出生结局的相互作用效应。
国家重点研发计划、国家自然科学基金和中央高校基本科研业务费、环境与健康重点实验室。
