Associations between exposure to metal mixtures and birth weight. (August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Xuefen; Li, Yuanyuan; Li, Juxiao; Bao, Shuangshuang; Zhou, Aifen; Xu, Shunqing; Xia, Wei
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 263(2020)Supplement Part B
• Publication Date: 2020-08
• Subjects: Multiple metal exposures -- Birth weight z-score -- Mixture association -- Weighted quantile sum regression -- Quantile regression; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114537
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: Previous epidemiological studies have indicated that prenatal exposure to individual metals affect fetal growth. However, the ordinary linear regression has not enough power to assess the mixture effect of multiple metals and cannot capture the possible differences in associations of metal exposures by subgroups of infant birth weight distribution. To investigate the associations of prenatal exposure to metal mixtures with birth weight, and further to assess whether the sensibilities to metal toxicity are dissimilar among infants with poor and normal fetal growth. A total of 16 metals were analyzed in 736 cord samples from a Chinese birth cohort study. Weighted quantile sum regression (WQSR) found the estimate of the metal mixtures was negatively related to birthweight z-score overall [β (95% CI): −0.31 (−0.42, −0.20)], and the major contributors to the mixture index were Cu (39.7%), Ni (18.3%), Mn (14.0%), and Cd (13.1%). Quantile regression showed stronger relations in the tails of birthweight z-score distribution [e.g. the associations of Cu at specific birth weight z-score quantiles were: 10th percentile −0.70 (95% CI: −1.06, −0.35), the 90th percentile −0.35 (95% CI: −0.63, −0.06)]. Our study found that prenatal exposure to Cu, Mn, Ni, and Cd were negatively linked with birthweight z-score. The associations observed were stronger in the tails of birth weight z-score distribution. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: The multiple metal mixtures were negatively associated with birth weight z-score. The association with metal mixtures was mainly driven by copper, manganese, nickel, cadmium. The association with Cu concentration was stronger in lower birth weight z-score distribution.