Department of Chemistry, Medical University - Varna, 55 Marin Drinov str, 9002, Varna, Bulgaria.
Department of Chemistry, Medical University - Varna, 55 Marin Drinov str, 9002, Varna, Bulgaria.
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2023 Jun;251:114184. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114184. Epub 2023 May 7.
Human breast milk is an optimally balanced infant food and a suitable tool for assessing the burden of humans with lipophilic persistent organic pollutants. The aim of this study was to investigate the accumulation profile of polychlorinated biphenyls in breast milk of women living in Bulgaria and to assess the health risk to infants. Breast milk samples were obtained from 72 healthy primiparae and multiparae mothers, living in two regions in northeastern Bulgaria - Varna region and Dobrich region, in the period October 2019-July 2021. Important information for the study, such as age, body mass, smoking and dietary habits, was collected through a questionnaire. Fifteen congeners of PCBs, including six indicator congeners, were determined by capillary gas chromatography system with mass spectrometry detection. The lipid content of the tested samples was in the range from 0.5% to 6.7%, with average value 3.25%. The six indicator PCBs in human milk samples formed up to 89% of the total PCBs levels. The most abundant congener was PCB 153, followed by PCB 138 and PCB 180. Five of the 15 PCB congeners (77, 126, 128, 156, 169) were not detected in any of the milk samples. The arithmetic mean PCB levels in milk samples from Varna (32.7 ng/g lw) were found higher than PCB levels in breast milk of mothers from Dobrich (22.5 ng/g lw). The highest PCB levels were found in milk samples from primiparae mothers in 36-40 age group (for both regions). Infant exposure to PCBs present in human milk was estimated using toxic equivalents (TEQ). The health risk to infants was assessed and was compared to the tolerable daily intake (TDI). Positive correlation was found between the arithmetic mean PCBs levels and two important factors - the age and body mass index of the primiparae group. The mean values of the analyzed PCB congeners in breast milk samples from multiparae were lower than in those from primiparae mothers. The regional differences in PCB concentrations were small, suggesting similar exposures in the studied regions. The levels of PCBs in breast milk were found lower than levels from studies in other European countries. Statistical data does not show any association between PCB levels in milk and dietary habits. The results showed that infants are not at risk of any adverse effects caused by PCBs through breast milk.
人乳是一种最佳平衡的婴儿食品，也是评估具有亲脂性持久性有机污染物的人体负担的合适工具。本研究旨在调查生活在保加利亚东北部两个地区的瓦尔纳地区和多布里奇地区的 72 名健康初产妇和多产妇的母乳中多氯联苯的积累情况，并评估对婴儿的健康风险。通过问卷调查收集了与研究相关的重要信息，如年龄、体重、吸烟和饮食习惯。采用毛细管气相色谱-质谱联用系统测定了 15 种多氯联苯同类物，包括 6 种指示性同类物。所测试样品的脂肪含量在 0.5%至 6.7%之间，平均值为 3.25%。人乳样本中的 6 种指示性多氯联苯占多氯联苯总量的 89%。最丰富的同系物是 PCB 153，其次是 PCB 138 和 PCB 180。在任何牛奶样本中都未检测到 15 种多氯联苯同系物中的 5 种（77、126、128、156、169）。瓦尔纳（32.7ng/g lw）母乳样本中的多氯联苯平均水平高于多布里奇（22.5ng/g lw）母亲母乳中的多氯联苯水平。在 36-40 岁年龄组的初产妇母亲的母乳样本中发现了最高的多氯联苯水平（两个地区均如此）。通过毒效当量（TEQ）估算了婴儿从母乳中接触到的多氯联苯的情况。评估了婴儿的健康风险，并将其与可耐受每日摄入量（TDI）进行了比较。发现多氯联苯的算术平均值与初产妇组的两个重要因素-年龄和体重指数之间存在正相关关系。多产妇母乳样本中分析的多氯联苯同系物的平均值低于初产妇母亲的平均值。地区间多氯联苯浓度的差异较小，表明研究地区的暴露情况相似。母乳中的多氯联苯水平低于其他欧洲国家的研究水平。统计数据显示，母乳中多氯联苯的水平与饮食习惯之间没有任何关联。结果表明，婴儿通过母乳接触多氯联苯不会造成任何不良影响。
