Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
Chemosphere. 2022 Nov;307(Pt 2):135599. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135599. Epub 2022 Aug 30.
Melamine, melamine derivatives, and aromatic amines are nitrogen-containing compounds with known toxicity and widespread commercial uses. Nevertheless, biomonitoring of these chemicals is lacking, particularly during pregnancy, a period of increased susceptibility to adverse health effects.
We aimed to measure melamine, melamine derivatives, and aromatic amine exposure in pregnant women across the United States (U.S.) and evaluate associations with participant and urine sample collection characteristics.
We measured 43 analytes, representing 45 chemicals (i.e., melamine, three melamine derivatives, and 41 aromatic amines), in urine from pregnant women in nine diverse ECHO cohorts during 2008-2020 (N = 171). To assess relations with participant and urine sample collection characteristics, we used generalized estimating equations to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) for analytes dichotomized at the detection limit, % differences (%Δ) for continuous analytes, and 95% confidence intervals. Multivariable models included age, race/ethnicity, marital status, urinary cotinine, and year of sample collection.
Twelve chemicals were detected in >60% of samples, with near ubiquitous detection of cyanuric acid, melamine, aniline, 4,4'-methylenedianiline, and a composite of o-toluidine and m-toluidine (99-100%). In multivariable adjusted models, most chemicals were associated with higher exposures among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black participants. For example, concentrations of 3,4-dichloroaniline were higher among Hispanic (%Δ: +149, 95% CI: +17, +431) and non-Hispanic Black (%Δ: +136, 95% CI: +35, +311) women compared with non-Hispanic White women. We observed similar results for ammelide, o-/m-toluidine, 4,4'-methylenedianiline, and 4-chloroaniline. Most chemicals were positively associated with urinary cotinine, with strongest associations observed for o-/m-toluidine (%Δ: +23; 95% CI: +16, +31) and 3,4-dichloroaniline (%Δ: +25; 95% CI: +17, +33). Some chemicals exhibited annual trends (e.g., %Δ in melamine per year: -11; 95% CI: -19, -1) or time of day, seasonal, and geographic variability.
Exposure to melamine, cyanuric acid, and some aromatic amines was ubiquitous in this first investigation of these analytes in pregnant women. Future research should expand biomonitoring, identify sources of exposure disparities by race/ethnicity, and evaluate potential adverse health effects.
三聚氰胺、三聚氰胺衍生物和芳香胺是具有已知毒性和广泛商业用途的含氮化合物。然而，这些化学物质的生物监测，特别是在怀孕期间，缺乏对不良健康影响的敏感性。
我们旨在测量美国孕妇体内三聚氰胺、三聚氰胺衍生物和芳香胺的暴露情况，并评估其与参与者和尿液样本采集特征的相关性。
我们在 2008-2020 年间，对来自九个不同 ECHO 队列的孕妇尿液中的 43 种分析物（代表 45 种化学物质，即三聚氰胺、三种三聚氰胺衍生物和 41 种芳香胺）进行了测量（N=171）。为了评估与参与者和尿液样本采集特征的关系，我们使用广义估计方程来估计在检测限处二分类的分析物的患病率比（PR）、连续分析物的%差异（%Δ）和 95%置信区间。多变量模型包括年龄、种族/民族、婚姻状况、尿液可替宁和样本采集年份。
12 种化学物质在>60%的样本中被检出，其中氰尿酸、三聚氰胺、苯胺、4,4'-亚甲基二苯胺和邻-甲苯胺和间-甲苯胺的混合物几乎普遍存在（99-100%）。在多变量调整模型中，大多数化学物质与西班牙裔和非西班牙裔黑人参与者的更高暴露有关。例如，与非西班牙裔白人女性相比，西班牙裔（%Δ：+149，95%CI：+17，+431）和非西班牙裔黑人（%Δ：+136，95%CI：+35，+311）女性体内的 3,4-二氯苯胺浓度更高。对于三聚氰胺酰胺、邻-/间-甲苯胺、4,4'-亚甲基二苯胺和 4-氯苯胺，我们观察到了类似的结果。大多数化学物质与尿液可替宁呈正相关，与邻-/间-甲苯胺（%Δ：+23；95%CI：+16，+31）和 3,4-二氯苯胺（%Δ：+25；95%CI：+17，+33）的相关性最强。一些化学物质表现出年度趋势（例如，每年三聚氰胺的%Δ：-11；95%CI：-19，-1）或时间、季节性和地理变异性。
在对孕妇体内这些分析物的首次调查中，三聚氰胺、氰尿酸和一些芳香胺的暴露是普遍存在的。未来的研究应扩大生物监测范围，确定种族/民族差异的暴露源，并评估潜在的不良健康影响。
