Maternal Blood Levels of Toxic and Essential Elements and Birth Outcomes in Argentina: The EMASAR Study

Shanshan Xu, Solrunn Hansen, Kam Sripada, Torbjørn Aarsland, Milena Horvat, Darja Mazej, Marisa Viviana Alvarez and Jon Øyvind Odland
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Shanshan Xu: Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Solrunn Hansen: Department of Health and Care Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromso, Norway
Kam Sripada: Centre for Global Health Inequalities Research (CHAIN), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Torbjørn Aarsland: Research Department, Stavanger University Hospital, 4068 Stavanger, Norway
Milena Horvat: Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Darja Mazej: Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Marisa Viviana Alvarez: Pediatric Department, Hospital Público Materno Infantil de Salta, Sarmiento 1301, Salta 4400, Argentina
Jon Øyvind Odland: Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-22

Abstract: Pregnant women’s levels of toxic and essential minerals have been linked to birth outcomes yet have not been adequately investigated in South America. In Argentina, n = 696 maternal whole blood samples from Ushuaia ( n = 198) and Salta ( n = 498) were collected in 2011–2012 among singleton women at 36 ± 12 h postpartum and analyzed for blood concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn). This study examined the associations between maternal elements levels and birth outcomes, and sociodemographic factors contributing to elements levels. Maternal age, parity, body mass index, smoking, and education were linked to concentrations of some but not all elements. In adjusted models, one ln-unit increase in Pb levels was associated with increased gestational age (0.2 weeks, 95% CI = 0.01–0.48) and decreased birth weight (−88.90 g, 95% CI = −173.69 to −4.11) and birth length (−0.46 cm, 95% CI = −0.85 to −0.08) in the Salta sample. Toxic elements concentrations were not associated with birth outcomes in Ushuaia participants. Birth outcomes are multifactorial problems, and these findings provide a foundation for understanding how the body burden of toxic and essential elements, within the socioeconomic context, may influence birth outcomes.

Keywords: biomonitoring; children’s environmental health; environmental exposures; social determinants of health; toxic metals (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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