An Evaluation of Exposure to 18 Toxic and/or Essential Trace Elements Exposure in Maternal and Cord Plasma during Pregnancy at Advanced Maternal Age

Tingfei Gu, Xiaoqian Jia, Huifeng Shi, Xiaoli Gong, Jinxi Ma, Zhihang Gan, Zhixin Yu, Zhiwen Li () and Yuan Wei ()
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Tingfei Gu: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
Xiaoqian Jia: Institute of Reproductive and Child Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Huifeng Shi: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
Xiaoli Gong: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
Jinxi Ma: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
Zhihang Gan: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
Zhixin Yu: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
Zhiwen Li: Institute of Reproductive and Child Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Yuan Wei: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: Pregnant women of advanced maternal age (AMA) are vulnerable to exposure to the surrounding environment. Assessment of trace elements in pregnant women living in specific areas is important for biomonitoring. However, exposure levels and variation patterns during pregnancy remains controversial and attracts extensive public concern. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate exposure of 18 toxic and/or essential trace elements in maternal plasma and in paired cord plasma during pregnancy at AMA. A total of 48 pregnant women of AMA were recruited in Peking University Third Hospital from 2018 to 2021. Eighteen elements found in maternal plasma during the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd trimester of pregnancy and paired cord plasma were measured by 7700x ICP-MS (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA, USA) and Elan DRC type II ICP-MS (The Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Waltham, MA USA). Concentrations of Pb, Se, Fe, Zn, and Mo all decreased during pregnancy, while Cu increased. Interestingly, concentrations of Rb decreased initially but then increased. Elements as Al, Co, Se, Cu, and Ni showed significantly lower levels in cord than in maternal plasma, while elements as Sr, Fe, Rb, Mn and Zn displayed significantly higher levels in cord than in maternal plasma. Moreover, positively- interacted clusters were found in Ni-Co-Cu-Al-Rb-Zn and Zn-Mn-Al-Pb in maternal blood. Similar positively-interacted clusters were found in Zn-Ni-Co, Zn-Ni-Fe, Mn-Al-Pb, Fe-Pb-Mn, Fe-Ni-Cu, and Rb-Cu-Sb-Fe-Mn in cord plasma. Furthermore, correlations between paired maternal and cord blood samples for As, Sr, and Mo were statistically significant, indicating that the fetus burden may reflect maternal exposure to some extent. Admittedly, levels of toxic and essential elements in our cohort study were comparatively lower than those in the scientific literature.

Keywords: maternal plasma; umbilical cord plasma; essential trace elements; toxic elements; advanced maternal age (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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