engleski

Exposure of breastfed infants from Croatia to polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls

The benefits of breastfeeding are undeniable ; however, it is known that human milk is a significant exposure route of newborns to persistent lipophilic chemicals, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Despite bans on the use of both classes of compounds, they are still ubiquitous in the environment and can cause adverse health outcomes in humans, especially infants. The levels of seven most frequently analyzed PBDEs and seven indicator PCBs were measured in human milk samples (N=18) collected in 2020 from primipara women living in Zagreb, Croatia. Microwave-assisted extraction was used as the extraction technique, and purified extracts were analyzed using GC-ECD. All of the targeted PCBs were detected in all of the analyzed milk samples (∑PCB ranged between 15.03 and 71.00 ng/g lw, median: 31.32 ng/g lw), while BDE-153 was the only PBDE compound detected in all samples, and BDE-28 and -183 were not detected at all. ∑PBDE ranged from 0.20 to 6.29 ng/g lw (median: 0.67 ng/g lw). The obtained mass fractions were used to calculate estimated daily intakes (EDI) for breastfeding infants, and consequently, they were significantly higher for PCBs. The EDIs of ∑PCB ranged from 87.07 to 449.64 ng kg-1 bw day-1 (median: 165.59 ng kg-1 bw day- 1), and from 0.77 to 40.84 ng kg-1 bw day-1 (median: 3.60 ng kg-1 bw day-1) for ∑PBDE. Additionally, the risk quotients for BDE-47, -99 and -153 were <1 in all samples, indicating that the breastfeed infants in this area were not at a health risk from exposure to PBDEs from human milk. ∑PCB > ∑PBDE clearly indicates a greater persistence and bioavailability of PCBs, compounds that were banned before any of the study participants were even born. Current PCB levels are very similar to those observed in the same area ten years earlier, which indicates the achievement of steady state concentrations of PCBs in human milk. This work has been supported in part by the Croatian Science Foundation under project HrZZ- UIP-2017-05-6713.

polybrominated diphenyl ethers ; polychlorinated biphenyls ; human milk ; Croatia

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