Human Biomonitoring Research Unit, Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg.
Ined-Inserm-EFS - Unité mixte Elfe (Campus Condorcet), 9, cours des Humanités, 93322 Aubervilliers, France.
Environ Int. 2024 Aug;190:108881. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108881. Epub 2024 Jul 7.
Exposure to endocrine disruptors during early childhood poses significant health risks. This study examines the exposure levels of French 3.5-year-old children to various persistent and non-persistent pollutants and pesticides using hair analysis as part of the ELFE national birth cohort. Differences in sex and geographical location among the children were investigated as ppossible determinants of exposure.
Exposure biomarkers from 32 chemical families were analyzed using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS in 222 hair samples from children in the ELFE cohort. Of these, 46 mother-child pairs from the same cohort provided unique insight into prenatal and postnatal exposure. Regressions, correlations and discriminate analysis were used to assess relationships between exposure and possible confounding factors.
Among the biomarkers tested in children's hair samples, 69 had a detection frequency of ≥ 50 %, with 20 showing a 100 % detection rate. The most detected biomarkers belonged to the bisphenol, organochlorine and organophosphate families. Sex-specific differences were observed for 26 biomarkers, indicating the role of the child's sex in exposure levels. Additionally, regional differences were noted, with Hexachlorobenzene varying significantly across the different French regions. Nicotine presented both the highest concentration (16303 pg/mg) and highest median concentration (81 pg/mg) measured in the children's hair. Statistically significant correlations between the levels of biomarkers found in the hair samples of the mothers and their respective children were observed for fipronil (correlation coefficient = 0.32, p = 0.03), fipronil sulfone (correlation coefficient = 0.34, p = 0.02) and azoxystrobin (correlation coefficient = 0.29, p = 0.05).
The study highlights the elevated exposure levels of young children to various pollutants, highlighting the influence of sex and geography. Hair analysis emerges as a crucial tool for monitoring endocrine disruptors, offering insights into exposure risks and reinforcing the need for protective measures against these harmful substances.
儿童在早期接触内分泌干扰物会带来重大的健康风险。本研究通过头发分析，检查了法国 3.5 岁儿童接触各种持久性和非持久性污染物和农药的水平，这是全国出生队列 ELFE 的一部分。研究还调查了儿童的性别和地理位置差异，这些因素可能是造成暴露的决定因素。
在 ELFE 队列的 222 个儿童头发样本中，使用 LC-MS/MS 和 GC-MS/MS 分析了 32 个化学家族的暴露生物标志物。其中，46 对来自同一队列的母婴对提供了独特的见解，揭示了产前和产后暴露的情况。回归、相关性和判别分析用于评估暴露与可能的混杂因素之间的关系。
在所测试的儿童头发样本中的生物标志物中，有 69 种的检测频率≥50%，其中 20 种的检测率为 100%。检测到的生物标志物中，最多的属于双酚、有机氯和有机磷家族。对于 26 种生物标志物，观察到了性别特异性差异，表明儿童的性别在暴露水平中起着作用。此外，还注意到了区域差异，不同法国地区的六氯苯含量差异显著。在儿童头发中，尼古丁的浓度最高（16303pg/mg），中位数浓度最高（81pg/mg）。在母亲和孩子的头发样本中，发现了一些生物标志物的水平之间存在显著的相关性，例如氟吡菌胺（相关系数=0.32，p=0.03）、氟吡菌胺砜（相关系数=0.34，p=0.02）和唑菌胺酯（相关系数=0.29，p=0.05）。
该研究强调了幼儿接触各种污染物的水平升高，突显了性别和地理位置的影响。头发分析成为监测内分泌干扰物的重要工具，提供了对暴露风险的深入了解，并加强了对这些有害物质采取保护措施的必要性。
