Liu Bingying, Zheng Dongming, Wang Jia, Wang Dan, Zhang Shuo, Chu Daming
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2025 Sep 15;303:118827. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118827. Epub 2025 Aug 19.
Placental microplastic exposure has emerged as a potential environmental risk factor affecting fetal development. This study investigates the association between placental microplastic burden and umbilical cord hormone levels in a cohort of pregnant women from Shenyang, China. A total of 1324 pregnant women during 2022-2023 were enrolled. Placental microplastics were quantified using a laser direct infrared (LD-IR) chemical imaging system, targeting polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), and polybutylene succinate (PBS). Umbilical cord blood cortisol, cortisone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and androstenedione were analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Regression models were applied to assess individual microplastic associations, while quantile-based g-computation (g-comp) and Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) were used to evaluate mixture effects. Microplastics were detected in all placental samples, with a median total concentration of 12 particles/10 g. Placental microplastic exposure was significantly associated with altered fetal hormone levels. Higher PVC, PBS, and total microplastic concentrations were linked to lower cortisol levels, while PVC, PP, and total microplastics were associated with reduced cortisone. In contrast, PBS and total microplastics were positively associated with DHEA, and PVC, PBS, and total microplastics correlated with increased androstenedione. The cortisol/DHEA and glucocorticoid/androgenic ratios were significantly reduced with higher microplastic exposure, suggesting endocrine disruption. Mixture analysis confirmed these trends, showing decreased glucocorticoids and increased androgens, with sex-stratified analysis indicating stronger cortisol reductions in boys and higher DHEA in girls. Overall, placental microplastic exposure was associated with altered fetal hormone levels, suggesting potential endocrine disruption while further studies are needed.
胎盘微塑料暴露已成为影响胎儿发育的潜在环境风险因素。本研究调查了中国沈阳一组孕妇的胎盘微塑料负荷与脐带血激素水平之间的关联。2022年至2023年期间共纳入了1324名孕妇。使用激光直接红外（LD-IR）化学成像系统对胎盘微塑料进行定量，目标物质为聚氯乙烯（PVC）、聚丙烯（PP）和聚丁二酸丁二醇酯（PBS）。采用液相色谱-串联质谱法（LC-MS/MS）分析脐带血中的皮质醇、可的松、脱氢表雄酮（DHEA）和雄烯二酮。应用回归模型评估个体微塑料的关联，同时使用基于分位数的g计算（g-comp）和贝叶斯核机器回归（BKMR）来评估混合效应。在所有胎盘样本中均检测到微塑料，总浓度中位数为12颗粒/10克。胎盘微塑料暴露与胎儿激素水平改变显著相关。较高的PVC、PBS和总微塑料浓度与较低的皮质醇水平相关，而PVC、PP和总微塑料与可的松降低有关。相反，PBS和总微塑料与DHEA呈正相关，PVC、PBS和总微塑料与雄烯二酮增加相关。随着微塑料暴露增加，皮质醇/DHEA和糖皮质激素/雄激素比值显著降低，提示内分泌干扰。混合分析证实了这些趋势，显示糖皮质激素降低，雄激素增加，按性别分层分析表明男孩的皮质醇降低更明显，女孩的DHEA更高。总体而言，胎盘微塑料暴露与胎儿激素水平改变有关，提示可能存在内分泌干扰，尚需进一步研究。
