Residue Levels of Organochlorine Pesticides in Breast Milk and Its Associations with Cord Blood Thyroid Hormones and the Offspring’s Neurodevelopment

Cheng-Chih Kao, Danielle E. Que, Sayre J. Bongo, Lemmuel L. Tayo, Yi-Hsien Lin, Chun-Wen Lin, Sheng-Lun Lin, Yan-You Gou, Wen-Li Hsu, Cherng-Gueih Shy, Kuo-Lin Huang, Ming-Hsien Tsai and How-Ran Chao
Additional contact information
Cheng-Chih Kao: Emerging Compounds Research Center, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan
Danielle E. Que: Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
Sayre J. Bongo: School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and Sciences, Mapúa University, Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila 1002, Philippines
Lemmuel L. Tayo: School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and Sciences, Mapúa University, Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila 1002, Philippines
Yi-Hsien Lin: Department of Plant Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan
Chun-Wen Lin: Department of Child Care, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan
Sheng-Lun Lin: Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung 83347, Taiwan
Yan-You Gou: Emerging Compounds Research Center, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan
Wen-Li Hsu: Emerging Compounds Research Center, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan
Cherng-Gueih Shy: Department of Radiology, Pingtung Christian Hospital, Pingtung City, Pingtung County 900, Taiwan
Kuo-Lin Huang: Emerging Compounds Research Center, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan
Ming-Hsien Tsai: Department of Child Care, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan
How-Ran Chao: Emerging Compounds Research Center, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 8, 1-19

Abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated that organochlorine pesticide (OCP) exposure has a negative impact on the neurological function of infants. Only a few reports have investigated the thyroid and growth hormones and their relationship to neurodevelopment after human exposure to OCPs, especially in the case of infants. Our goal was to determine whether breastmilk OCP residues were associated with negative impacts and/or alterations in the neurodevelopment of infants among specific southern Taiwanese mother–breastfed infant pairs. Our subjects ( n = 55 pairs) were recruited from southern Taiwan between 2007 and 2010. The thyroid and growth hormone levels in the cord blood samples collected after childbirth were determined. The breastmilk was gathered within one month after childbirth for the determination of OCP levels using a high-resolution gas chromatograph with mass spectrometry, and the neurodevelopment of 10–12-month-old infants was examined using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development ® , Third Edition (Bayley-III). It was observed that 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (4,4′-DDE) (mean = 10.3 ng/g lipid) was the most predominant OCP compound in the breastmilk samples. At higher concentrations (>75th percentile), specific OCPs were associated with significantly lower levels of thyroid and growth hormones than at lower concentrations (<75th percentile). Significantly higher odds ratios (ORs) were observed for binary cognitive (OR = 8.09, p = 0.025 for 4,4′-DDT), language (OR = 11.9, p = 0.013 for 4,4′-DDT) and social–emotional (OR = 6.06, p = 0.01 for trans-CHL) composite scores for specific OCPs belonging to the lower exposure group as compared to the higher OCP exposure group. The five domain Bayley-III infant neurodevelopment outcomes were negatively associated with specific OCPs in the breast milk samples based on the redundancy analysis (RDA) test. Bayley-III scales, which include cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional, and adaptive behavior scales, could be predicted by 4,4′-DDT, endrin, endosulfan I, heptachlor, or heptachlor epoxide using multivariate linear regression models with adjustment for maternal age, pre-pregnant BMI, parity, and infant gender. In conclusion, although our study showed that postnatal exposure to breast milk OCPs may be associated with infant neurodevelopmental outcomes and that prenatal exposure, if extrapolated from breastmilk levels, is associated with changes in thyroid and growth hormones that may have effects on neurodevelopment, these associations are only suggestive; thus, further studies are recommended for confirmation.

Keywords: breast milk; thyroid hormones; organochlorine pesticides; Bayley-III; infant neurodevelopment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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