Institute of Maternal and Child Health, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430016, PR China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & 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 430030, PR China.
Center for Public Health Laboratory Service, Institute of Environmental Health, Wuhan Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430015, PR China.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jul 1;932:172723. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172723. Epub 2024 Apr 25.
Pentachlorophenol (PCP), a typical environmental endocrine disruptor and a new persistent organic pollutant, has been extensively used as a pesticide worldwide. Although its use has been restricted for decades, PCP remains prevalent in both the environment and human bodies. Despite the known endocrine-disrupting and exogenous hormonal effects of PCP, few epidemiological studies examined such impact, especially among sensitive populations and during critical periods. Based on a prospective birth cohort in Wuhan, China, we collected maternal (first trimester; 13.0 ± 1.02 gestational weeks) and infant urine samples (1.16 ± 0.22 months postpartum) from 720 mother-infant pairs. We aimed to examine the association of PCP exposure during early pregnancy with maternal and infant urinary sex steroid hormones, including estrogens (estrone, E1; estradiol, E2; estriol, E3), progestogens (progesterone, P4; pregnenolone, P5; 17α-OH-Progesterone, 17OHP4; 17α-OH-Pregnenolone, 17OHP5), and androgens (testosterone, Testo; dihydrotestosterone, DHT; dehydroepiandrosterone, DHEA; androstenedione, A4). Additionally, gonadotropins [follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH)] were measured in infant urine. Detection frequencies of all the sex steroid hormones in the maternal urine samples (>99 %) were higher than those in the infants' [most ≥80 %, except for E1 (3.36 %) and E2 (21.4 %)]. Maternal urinary PCP concentration was found to be significantly related with increased maternal sex steroid hormone concentrations; each interquartile increase in PCP concentration was positively related with percent change of the hormones (%Δ) ranging from 26.6 % to 48.5 %. On the other hand, maternal PCP exposure was associated with significantly increased P4 in male infants [%Δ (95 % confidence interval): 10.5 (0.56, 21.4)] but slightly decreased P4 in female infants [-11.9 (-21.8, 0.68)]. In addition, maternal PCP exposure was significantly associated with decreased FSH [%Δ (95 % CI): -9.90 (-17.0, -2.18)] and LH [-8.44 (-16.0, -0.19)] in the female infants, but not in the male infants. Sensitivity analyses, excluding infertility related treatment, pregnancy complications, preterm birth, or low birth weight, showed generally consistent results. Our findings implied that maternal/prenatal PCP exposure might disrupt the homeostasis of maternal and infant reproductive hormones. However, further studies are needed to confirm the findings.
五氯苯酚（PCP）是一种典型的环境内分泌干扰物和新型持久性有机污染物，曾被广泛用作全球范围内的农药。尽管其使用已被限制数十年，但 PCP 仍普遍存在于环境和人体中。尽管已知 PCP 具有内分泌干扰和外源性激素作用，但很少有流行病学研究对此进行检查，特别是在敏感人群和关键时期。基于中国武汉的一项前瞻性出生队列研究，我们收集了 720 对母婴尿液样本，其中包括 13.0±1.02 孕周的孕妇（孕早期）和 1.16±0.22 月龄的婴儿尿液样本。我们旨在研究妊娠早期 PCP 暴露与母婴尿中甾体性激素的关系，包括雌激素（雌酮、E1；雌二醇、E2；雌三醇、E3）、孕激素（孕酮、P4；孕烯醇酮、P5；17α-羟孕酮、17OHP4；17α-羟孕烯醇酮、17OHP5）和雄激素（睾酮、Testo；二氢睾酮、DHT；脱氢表雄酮、DHEA；雄烯二酮、A4）。此外，我们还测量了婴儿尿液中的促性腺激素[卵泡刺激素（FSH）和黄体生成素（LH）]。孕妇尿液中所有甾体性激素的检出频率（>99%）均高于婴儿[大多数≥80%，除 E1（3.36%）和 E2（21.4%）]。母体尿液中的 PCP 浓度与母体甾体性激素浓度的升高显著相关；PCP 浓度每增加一个四分位间距，与激素的百分比变化（%Δ）相关，范围为 26.6%至 48.5%。另一方面，母体 PCP 暴露与男婴 P4 显著增加有关（%Δ（95%置信区间）：10.5（0.56，21.4）]，但与女婴 P4 轻度降低有关[-11.9（-21.8，0.68）]。此外，母体 PCP 暴露与女婴 FSH 和 LH 的降低显著相关（%Δ（95%CI）：-9.90（-17.0，-2.18））和[-8.44（-16.0，-0.19）]，但在男婴中没有发现这种关联。排除不孕相关治疗、妊娠并发症、早产或低出生体重的敏感性分析结果基本一致。我们的研究结果表明，母体/产前 PCP 暴露可能破坏母婴生殖激素的内稳态。然而，还需要进一步的研究来证实这些发现。
