PT47 - DETERMINANTS OF MATERNAL EXPOSURE TO HEAVY METALS AND SEMI-METALS: FOCUS ON DIET AND LIFESTYLE
PT47
DETERMINANTS OF MATERNAL EXPOSURE TO HEAVY METALS AND SEMI-METALS: FOCUS ON DIET AND LIFESTYLE
J. Guimarães1,*, I. Bracchi1,2, C. Pinheiro1, M. I. Vieira1, M. Oliveira-Barbosa1, A. Almeida3, R. Azevedo3, E. Pinto3,4, D. Pestana5, C. Calhau6, M. do Carmo Prucha7, C. Martins 7, C. C. Dias8,9, L. F. R. Azevedo9, C. Ramalho7,10,11, V. Cruz Fernandes3,12,13, E. Keating1
1RISE-Health, Department of Biomedicine-Unit of Biochemistry Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto , 2ESS, Polytechnic of Porto, 3LAQV/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4LAQV/REQUIMTE, Escola Superior de Saúde, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Porto, 5CHRC | Nutrition and Metabolism, NOVA Medical School|FCM, NOVA Medical School|FCM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 6Nutrition and Metabolism, NOVA Medical School|FCM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, 7Department of Obstetrics, Centro Hospitalar Universitário S. João, 8Knowledge Management Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 9RISE-Health, Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 10Department of Ginecology-Obstetrics and Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 11RISE-Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 12Ciências Químicas e das Biomoléculas, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, 13RISE-Health, Centro de Investigação em Saúde Translacional e Biotecnologia Médica (TBIO)/Rede de Investigação em Saúde (RISE-Health), Escola Superior de Saúde, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Porto, Portugal
Rationale: Knowledge on determinants and health risks of toxic metal exposure in pregnancy is scarce in Portugal. This study aims to characterize food and lifestyle determinants of maternal exposure to Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd) and Arsenic (As).
Methods: We included 1111 pregnant women undergoing routine 1st-trimester fetal ultrasound scan between 2018 and 2021 at CHUSJoão (Porto) and Hospital CUF Descobertas (Lisbon), who had single pregnancy and gave informed consent. At this stage, we collected diet and lifestyle information and a random urine sample for Pb, Cd and As quantification by ICP-MS.
Results: The majority of the sample had detectable urinary levels of toxic elements (n (%) and median (P25; P75) for Pb, Cd (in ng/g), and As (in µg/g): 980 (88) and 547.2 (289.1; 975.9), 628 (57) and 142.5 (81.5; 234.9), 1080 (97) and 27.4 (14.9; 51.3), respectively). Cd and As urinary concentrations were positively correlated (rs=0.250, p<0.001).
Smoking habits were associated with higher Pb (p=0.034) and Cd (p=0.008) levels and Pb levels had a negative weak correlation with birth head circumference (rs=-0.102; p=0.009).
Regarding diet, the frequencies of fish and eggs intake were positively associated with Cd and As levels (p=0.005 and p< 0.001, respectively for fish intake; p=0.030 and p<0.001, respectively, for eggs intake). Women who reported consuming fish or eggs at least four times a week presented median (P25; P75) As levels of 35.2 (21.3; 71.9) or 35.9 (16.8; 57.2) μg/g, respectively. These concentrations exceed the commonly accepted reference range (≥24.0 μg/g), observed in healthy populations.
Conclusion: Our results evidence that, in pregnant women, smoking might be a determinant of Pb and Cd exposure and fish and eggs might be relevant determinants of Cd and As exposure. These data stress the need to study the consequences of Pb or As and Cd cumulative exposure on the health of the mother and the offspring.
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Disclosure of Interest: None declared