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Effects of perinatal dioxin exposure on development of children: a 3-year follow-up study of China cohort

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal effects of perinatal exposure to dioxin on physical growth in a 3-year follow-up study. In 2015, 27 mother–infant pairs living in an electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling region and 35 pairs living in a control region were enrolled in the present study. Breast milk samples were collected at 4 weeks after birth. Physical growth, including weight, height, and head and chest circumferences, was measured at 6 months and 3 years of age. Dioxin levels in the breast milk were measured by gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry. Levels of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and toxic equivalency values in maternal breast milk of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and PCDDs/PCDFs were significantly higher in women residing in the e-waste dismantling region. In 3-year-old boys, inverse associations were found between height and PCDDs-TEQ. In girls, positive associations were found between height and 2,3,7,8-TetraCDD, PCDDs-TEQ, and PCDDs/PCDFs-TEQ, and for weight and PCDDs-TEQ and PCDDs/PCDFs-TEQ at 3 years of age. In this study, sex-specific differences were observed in children, in whom dioxin exposure decreased growth in boys but increased growth in girls during the first 3 years of life.

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Abbreviations

E-waste:

Electronic waste

PCDDs:

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins

PCDFs:

Polychlorinated dibenzofurans

PBDEs:

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers

PCBs:

Polychlorinated biphenyls

2,3,7,8-TetraCDD:

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

BMI:

Body mass index

TEQ:

Toxic equivalency

LOD:

Limit of detection

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Funding

The study was supported by the Zhejiang Province Public Welfare Technology Application Research Project (CN) no. LGF18H260008.

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Correspondence to Xian Liang Sun.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all of the mothers. The study design was approved by the institutional ethics board for epidemiologic studies at Jiaxing University.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Wang, Z., Hang, J.G., Feng, H. et al. Effects of perinatal dioxin exposure on development of children: a 3-year follow-up study of China cohort. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 20780–20786 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05362-0

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