Biomedical subjects

Brenda Eskenazi

Publications and source records attributed to Brenda Eskenazi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Children's intellectual function in relation to arsenic exposure.

BACKGROUND: Very little evidence exists concerning the possible impairment of children's intellectual function in relation to arsenic exposure in utero and during childhood. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 351 children age 5 to 15 years who were selected from a source population of 7683 people in West Bengal, India, in 2001-2003. Intellectual function was assessed with 6 subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children as well as with the Total Sentence Recall test, the Colored Progressive Matrices test, and a pegboard test. Arsenic in urine and lifetime water sources (including during the pregnancy period) were assessed using measurements of samples from 409 wells. The test scores were analyzed with linear regression analyses based on the method of generalized estimating equations incorporating relevant covariates. RESULTS: Stratifying urinary arsenic concentrations into tertiles, we found associations between arsenic and reductions in the adjusted scores of the vocabulary test (0, -0.14, -0.28; P for trend = 0.02), the object assembly test (0, -0.16, -0.24; P for trend = 0.03), and the picture completion test (0, -0.15, -0.26; P for trend = 0.02). These findings correspond to relative declines of 12% (95% confidence interval =0.4% to 24%) in the vocabulary test, 21% (-0.8% to 42%) in the object assembly test, and of 13% (0.3% to 24%) in the picture completion test in the upper urinary arsenic tertile. However, we did not find evidence of an association between test results and arsenic water concentrations during pregnancy or childhood. CONCLUSIONS: Current arsenic concentrations in urine, which reflect all sources of recent exposure, including water and food, were associated with small decrements in intellectual testing in school-aged children in West Bengal. We did not see associations between long-term water arsenic concentrations and intellectual function.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Factors predicting organochlorine pesticide levels in pregnant Latina women living in a United States agricultural area.

Organochlorine (OC) pesticide use was restricted starting in the 1970s in developed countries and the 1980s and 1990s in developing countries. Current exposure to OC pesticides - dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), lindane (99% pure gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (gamma-HCH)), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) - occurs on a limited basis. We measured para, para' (p,p')-DDE, p,p'-DDT, ortho, para' (o,p')-DDT, HCB, beta (beta)-HCH (the most persistent isomer of technical-grade HCH) and gamma-HCH in serum from 426 low-income pregnant Latina women living in an agricultural community in California. Detection frequencies were 94% to 100%. Median levels (ng/g lipid) of p,p'-DDE (1,052), p,p'-DDT (13), beta-HCH (37) and HCB (65) were significantly higher than United States population levels. Multivariate analyses of p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDT, beta-HCH and HCB indicate that time spent living outside the United States and birthplace in an area of Mexico with recent use of OC pesticides were significant predictors of exposure. Time spent living in the United States was associated with increased serum levels of p,p'-DDE and beta-HCH, but the increase for each year lived in the United States was lower than for each year lived outside the United States. There was no difference between the increase of HCB levels over time spent in or outside the United States, suggesting current and thus preventable exposure routes. However, we observed no associations between serum levels of any OC compound and current intake of saturated fat or agricultural take-home exposure risk factors. Lactation history and recent weight gain were negatively associated with serum levels of some, but not all OC compounds studied. Smoking history was borderline associated with elevated HCB levels. We observed no significant associations with body mass index. Although the weight of evidence from this study indicates that most exposure occurred before moving to the United States, the results for HCB indicate the possibility of ongoing exposure in this country.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

A father of four consecutive trisomic pregnancies with elevated frequencies of associated aneuploid sperm.

A couple with normal somatic karyotypes had four consecutive trisomic pregnancies, each involving a different chromosome, of which two children were liveborn with confirmed paternal-origin trisomies. The apparently healthy father produced abnormally high frequencies of disomic sperm for each of the four chromosomes involved in the trisomic pregnancies (P< 0.003, by sperm fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)). His elevated sperm aneuploidies persisted over a 2-year period and affected all chromosomes evaluated, suggesting that he had a genome-wide defect in meiotic disjunction. He also had the highest frequencies of aneuploid sperm reported for any healthy man to date. His frequencies of aneuploid sperm were comparable to the peak frequencies of the transient responses reported in some cancer patients after receiving aneugenic chemotherapies. These findings indicate that apparently healthy men can produce abnormally high frequencies of sperm aneuploidies that suggest that this condition may contribute to recurrent trisomic pregnancies.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Pesticides and their metabolites in the homes and urine of farmworker children living in the Salinas Valley, CA.

In support of planning efforts for the National Children's Study, we conducted a study to test field methods for characterizing pesticide exposures to 20 farmworker children aged 5-27 months old living in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California. We tested methods for collecting house dust, indoor and outdoor air, dislodgeable residues from surfaces and toys, residues on clothing (sock and union suits), food, as well as spot and overnight diaper urine samples. We measured 29 common agricultural and home use pesticides in multiple exposure media samples. A subset of organophosphorus (OP), organochlorine (OC) and pyrethroid pesticides were measured in food. We also analyzed urine samples for OP pesticide metabolites. Finally, we administered four field-based exposure assessment instruments: a questionnaire; food diary; home inspection; and a self-administered child activity timeline. Pesticides were detected more frequently in house dust, surface wipes, and clothing than other media, with chlorpyrifos, diazinon, chlorthal-dimethyl, and cis- and trans-permethrin detected in 90% to 100% of samples. Levels of four of these five pesticides were positively correlated among the house dust, sock, and union suit samples (Spearman's rho=0.18-0.76). Pesticide loading on socks and union suits was higher for the group of 10 toddlers compared to the 10 younger crawling children. Several OP pesticides, as well as 4,4'-DDE, atrazine, and dieldrin were detected in the food samples. The child activity timeline, a novel, low-literacy instrument based on pictures, was successfully used by our participants. Future uses of these data include the development of pesticide exposure models and risk assessment.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2006

Time in the United States, social support and health behaviors during pregnancy among women of Mexican descent.

Among women of Mexican descent, increased acculturation in the US has been associated with poorer health behaviors during pregnancy. This study examined a population of low-income women of Mexican descent in an agricultural community to determine: whether social support patterns were associated with age at arrival in the US; whether social support was associated with pregnancy behaviors; and whether increased social support could prevent some of the negative pregnancy behaviors that accompany acculturation. Participants were 568 pregnant women enrolled in prenatal care in the Salinas Valley, California. Participants were predominantly Spanish speaking, born in Mexico, and from farmworker families. Information on social networks, social support, age at arrival in the US, and pregnancy health behaviors was gathered during interviews conducted during pregnancy and immediately after delivery. Poorer health behaviors were observed among women who had come to the US at a younger age. Social support during pregnancy was lowest among women who had come to the US at an older age. High parity, low education, and low income were also associated with low social support. Higher social support was associated with better quality of diet, increased likelihood of using prenatal vitamins, and decreased likelihood of smoking during pregnancy. High social support also appeared to prevent the negative impact of life in the US on diet quality. Women with intermediate or low levels of social support who had spent their childhoods in the US had significantly poorer diet quality than women who had spent their childhoods in Mexico. However, among women with high social support, there was no difference in diet quality according to country of childhood. Thus, in the case of diet quality, increased social support appears to prevent some of the negative pregnancy behaviors that accompany time in the US among women of Mexican descent.

Acculturation↗

PubMed2006

The ontogeny of autonomic measures in 6- and 12-month-old infants.

The purpose of this study was to develop a standardized protocol to measure preejection period (PEP), a measure of sympathetic nervous system, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of parasympathetic nervous system, during resting and challenging states for 6- and 12-month-old infants and to determine developmental changes and individual stability of these measures. A 7-min reactivity protocol was administered to Latino infants at 6 months (n=194) and 12 months (n=181). Results showed: (1) it is feasible to measure PEP and RSA in infants, (2) the protocol elicited significant autonomic changes, (3) individual resting autonomic measures were moderately stable from 6 to 12 months, but reactivity measures were not stable, and (4) heart rate and RSA resting and challenge group means changed significantly from 6 to 12 months. Findings suggest that although infants' autonomic responses show developmental changes, individuals' rank order is stable from 6 to 12 months of age.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2006

Soda consumption and overweight status of 2-year-old mexican-american children in california.

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of overweight in United States children, 2 to 5 years old, has increased 2-fold since 1975, with the highest prevalence in Mexican Americans. The objective of this study was to determine the association between current soda consumption and overweight in 2-year-old Mexican-American children. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas study is a longitudinal study of the health of low-income Latino pregnant women and their children living in the Salinas Valley, CA. Six hundred pregnant women were enrolled (October 1999 to October 2000), and their children were followed until 2 years of age. This cross-sectional analysis includes the 354 children who completed the 2-year follow-up interview. Standing height (centimeters) and weight (grams) were measured at 2 years. Overweight was defined as > or =95th percentile of the sex-specific BMI for each child's age. RESULTS: Fifty-five (15.5%) children were overweight. Over half (56%) reported consuming any soda in the last week. After covariate adjustment, compared with no soda consumption, <1 soda/d was not related to overweight (adjusted odds ratio, 0.97; 95% confidence interval, 0.47, 1.99), but > or =1 soda/d was significantly associated with overweight (adjusted odds ratio, 3.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.43, 8.07), and the test for trend was significant (p = 0.02). DISCUSSION: At 2 years of age, the prevalence of overweight among the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas cohort is higher than the national prevalence estimate for Mexican-American 2- to 5-year-old children and is significantly associated with current soda consumption. Interventions to reduce consumption of soda in young Mexican-American children should be considered.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

PON1 status of farmworker mothers and children as a predictor of organophosphate sensitivity.

The objective was to determine PON1 status as a predictor for organophosphorus insecticide sensitivity in a cohort of Latina mothers and newborns from the Salinas Valley, California, an area with high levels of organophosphorus insecticide use. PON1 status was established for 130 pregnant Latina women and their newborns using a high-throughput two substrate activity/analysis method which plots rates of diazoxon (DZO) hydrolysis against rates of paraoxon (PO) hydrolysis. Arylesterase activity (AREase) was determined using phenylacetate as a substrate, allowing comparison of PON1 levels across PON1192 genotypes in mothers and children. Phenylacetate hydrolysis is not affected by the Q192R polymorphism. Among newborns, levels of PON1 (AREase) varied by 26-fold (4.3-110.7 U/ml) and among mothers by 14-fold (19.8-281.4 U/ml). On average, children's PON1 levels were four-fold lower than the mothers' PON1 levels (P<0.001). Average PON1 levels in newborns were comparable with reported hPON1 levels in transgenic mice expressing human PON1Q192 or PON1R192, allowing for prediction of relative sensitivity to chlorpyrifos oxon (CPO) and DZO. The predicted range of variability in sensitivity of mothers and children in the same Latino cohort was 65-fold for DZO and 131 to 164-fold for CPO. Overall, these findings indicate that many of the newborns and some of the mothers in this cohort would be more susceptible to the adverse effects of specific organophosphorus pesticide exposure due to their PON1 status. Of particular concern are exposures of pregnant mothers and newborns with low PON1 status.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2006

Association of in utero organochlorine pesticide exposure and fetal growth and length of gestation in an agricultural population.

From 1940 through the 1970s, organochlorine compounds were widely used as insecticides in the United States. Thereafter, their use was severely restricted after recognition of their persistence in the environment, their toxicity in animals, and their potential for endocrine disruption. Although substantial evidence exists for the fetal toxicity of organochlorines in animals, information on human reproductive effects is conflicting. We investigated whether infants' length of gestation, birth weight, and crown-heel length were associated with maternal serum levels of 11 different organochlorine pesticides: p,p -dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p -DDT), p,p -dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p -DDE), o,p -dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (o,p -DDT), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (gamma-HCCH), gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (gamma-HCCH), dieldrin, heptachlor epoxide, oxychlordane, trans-nonachlor, and mirex. Our subjects were a birth cohort of 385 low-income Latinas living in the Salinas Valley, an agricultural community in California. We observed no adverse associations between maternal serum organochlorine levels and birth weight or crown-heel length. We found decreased length of gestation with increasing levels of lipid-adjusted HCB (adjusted gamma = -0.47 weeks; p = 0.05). We did not find reductions in gestational duration associated with any of the other organochlorine pesticides. Our finding of decreased length of gestation related to HCB does not seem to have had clinical implications for this population, given its relatively low rate of preterm delivery (6.5%).

Agriculture↗

PubMed2006

Paraoxonase polymorphisms, haplotypes, and enzyme activity in Latino mothers and newborns.

Recent studies have demonstrated widespread pesticide exposures in pregnant women and in children. Plasma paraoxonase 1 (PON1) plays an important role in detoxification of various organophosphates. The goals of this study were to examine in the Center for Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) birth cohort of Latina mothers and their newborns living in the Salinas Valley, California, the frequencies of five PON1 polymorphisms in the coding region (192QR and 55LM) and the promoter region (-162AG, -909CG, and -108CT) and to determine their associations with PON1 plasma levels [phenylacetate arylesterase (AREase) ] and enzyme activities of paraoxonase (POase) and chlorpyrifos oxonase (CPOase) . Additionally, we report results of PON1 linkage analysis and estimate the predictive value of haplotypes for PON1 plasma levels. We found that PON1-909, PON1-108, and PON1(192) had an equal frequency (0.5) of both alleles, whereas PON1-162 and PON1(55) had lower variant allele frequencies (0.2) . Nearly complete linkage disequilibrium was observed among coding and promoter polymorphisms (p < 0.001) , except PON1(192) and PON1-162 (p > 0.4) . Children's PON1 plasma levels (AREase ranged from 4.3 to 110.7 U/mL) were 4-fold lower than their mothers' (19.8 to 281.4 U/mL) . POase and CPOase activities were approximately 3-fold lower in newborns than in mothers. The genetic contribution to PON1 enzyme variability was higher in newborns (R2 = 25.1% by genotype and 26.3% by haplotype) than in mothers (R2 = 8.1 and 8.8%, respectively) . However, haplotypes and genotypes were comparable in predicting PON1 plasma levels in mothers and newborns. Most of the newborn children and some pregnant women in this Latino cohort may have elevated susceptibility to organophosphate toxicity because of their PON1192 genotype and low PON1 plasma levels.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Early environmental exposures and intracellular Th1/Th2 cytokine profiles in 24-month-old children living in an agricultural area.

BACKGROUND: Children who reside in agricultural settings are potentially exposed to higher levels of organophosphate (OP) pesticides, endotoxin, and allergens than their urban counterparts. Endotoxin and allergens stimulate maturation of the immune response in early childhood, but little is known about the effect of exposures to OPs or to the three combined. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we investigated the relationships between these exposures and T-helper 1 (Th1) and T-helper 2 (Th2) cytokines, biomarkers of allergic asthma, in the subjects of CHAMACOS (Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas), a longitudinal birth cohort in Salinas Valley, California. Exposures were ascertained by interviewer-administered questionnaires and by home visits, and clinical diagnoses were abstracted from medical records. Blood samples were collected at 12 and 24 months of age and analyzed for Th1/Th2 status by flow cytometric detection of intracellular interferon-gamma/interleukin-4 cytokine expression. FINDINGS: Mean Th2 levels were significantly higher in children with doctor-diagnosed asthma and children with wheezing at 2 years of age. In a multiple linear regression model, exclusive breast-feeding at 1 month and pet ownership were associated with 35.3% (p < 0.01) and 34.5% (p = 0.01) increases in Th1, respectively. Maternal agricultural work and presence of gas stove in the home were associated with a 25.9% increase (p = 0.04) and 46.5% increase (p < 0.01) in Th2, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Asthma and wheeze outcomes in children at 24 months of age are associated with elevated Th2 status in children at an early age. Our data further suggest that early exposures to an agricultural environment, breast-feeding, pets, and gas stoves affect the development of children's Th1/Th2 immune response.

Asthma↗

PubMed2006

In utero exposure to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and neurodevelopment among young Mexican American children.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the relationship between prenatal exposure to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and neurodevelopment of Mexican farm-workers' children in California. METHODS: Participants from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas study, a birth cohort study, included 360 singletons with maternal serum measures of p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDT, and p,p'-DDE. Psychomotor development and mental development were assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 6, 12, and 24 months. RESULTS: We found a approximately 2-point decrease in Psychomotor Developmental Index scores with each 10-fold increase in p,p'-DDT levels at 6 and 12 months (but not 24 months) and p,p'-DDE levels at 6 months only. We found no association with mental development at 6 months but a 2- to 3-point decrease in Mental Developmental Index scores for p,p'-DDT and o,p'-DDT at 12 and 24 months, corresponding to 7- to 10-point decreases across the exposure range. Even when mothers had substantial exposure, breastfeeding was usually associated positively with Bayley scale scores. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to DDT, and to a lesser extent DDE, was associated with neurodevelopmental delays during early childhood, although breastfeeding was found to be beneficial even among women with high levels of exposure. Countries considering the use of DDT should weigh its benefit in eradicating malaria against the negative associations found in this first report on DDT and human neurodevelopment.

Birth Weight↗

PubMed2005

Association of DDT and DDE with birth weight and length of gestation in the Child Health and Development Studies, 1959-1967.

The pesticide p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its persistent metabolite p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) are associated with negative reproductive outcomes in animals. In humans, however, the findings are inconsistent. Using data from the Child Health and Development Studies, a longitudinal study of 20,754 pregnancies among San Francisco Bay Area women from 1959 to 1967, the authors examined the effects of maternal serum DDT and DDE concentrations on preterm birth, small-for-gestational-age birth, birth weight, and gestational age in 420 male subjects. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression for preterm and small-for-gestational-age birth and linear regression for birth weight and gestational age. Median serum concentrations of DDE were 43 mug/liter (interquartile range: 32-57; range: 7-153) and of DDT were 11 mug/liter (interquartile range: 8-16; range: 3-72), several times higher than current US concentrations. The adjusted odds ratio for preterm birth was 1.28 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.73, 2.23) for DDE and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.50, 1.78) for DDT. For small-for-gestational-age birth, the adjusted odds ratio was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.44, 1.26) for DDE and 0.69 (95% CI: 0.73, 1.27) for DDT; none of the study results achieved statistical significance. Given the persistence of DDT in the environment and its continuing role in malaria control, studies using more robust data should continue to assess this relation.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Sex ratios in California following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

BACKGROUND: Natural and man-made disasters as well as declining economies appear to coincide with reduced odds of male live births among humans (i.e. lower secondary sex ratio). This association has been attributed to excess death of males in gestation and to reduced conception of males. We attempt to empirically discriminate between these two attributions by testing the hypotheses that the attacks of September 11, 2001 were followed in California first by higher fetal death sex ratios and later by lower sex ratios among very low weight births and total live births. METHODS: We apply interrupted time-series methods to the fetal death, very low birth weight, and secondary sex ratios. The methods control for trends, seasonal cycles, and other forms of autocorrelation that could induce spurious associations. RESULTS: Findings support the excess death explanation in that the fetal death sex ratio reached its highest level in the 6 year test period in October and November of 2001, while the very low weight birth sex ratio dropped to its lowest level in 14 years in December of 2001. The secondary sex ratio exhibited its second lowest value in 14 years in December of 2001. No support was found for the reduced conception explanation in that the sex ratio did not differ from expected values 9, 10 or 11 months after the attacks. CONCLUSIONS: We infer support for the excess death explanation at the expense of the reduced conception explanation. We also describe the implications of our findings for public health planning.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2005

Association between in utero organophosphate pesticide exposure and abnormal reflexes in neonates.

The detrimental effects of organophosphate pesticide (OP) exposure on neurodevelopment have been shown in animals. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between in utero and early postnatal OP exposure and neonatal neurobehavior in humans, as measured by seven clusters (habituation, orientation, motor performance, range of state, regulation of state, autonomic stability, and reflex) on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (BNBAS). We assessed 381 infants < or = 2 months old and born to women participating in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study, a longitudinal, birth cohort study of low-income, Latina women living in the agricultural community of the Salinas Valley, California. Exposure to OP pesticides was determined by urinary levels of dialkylphosphate (DAP) metabolites, including dimethyl and diethylphosphate metabolites, measured twice during pregnancy (M = 14 and 26 weeks gestation) and once post-delivery (M = 7 days postpartum). The relationship between exposure and BNBAS performance was examined for the entire sample and stratified by the median age at assessment, 3 days. We observed a significant association between exposure and the reflex cluster for the entire sample and for infants >3 days old (n = 184). Among the >3 day old infants, increasing average prenatal urinary metabolite levels were associated with both an increase in number of abnormal reflexes (total DAP: adjusted beta = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.23, 0.82; dimethyls: adjusted beta = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.12, 0.69; diethyls: adjusted beta = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.09, 0.64), and the proportion of infants with more than three abnormal reflexes (total DAP: adjusted OR = 4.9, 95% CI = 1.5, 16.1; dimethyls: adjusted OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.1, 9.8; diethyls: adjusted OR = 3.4, 95% CI = 1.2, 9.9). No detrimental associations were found between postnatal urinary metabolite levels and any of the BNBAS clusters for infants < or = 3 or >3 days old at assessment. Whether neonatal reflex functioning is predictive of neuropsychological functioning as the child matures will continue to be evaluated in this birth cohort.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Dioxin-Like TEQ of women from the Seveso, Italy area by ID-HRGC/HRMS and CALUX.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are widespread environmental contaminants that exist as complex mixtures and are frequently detected at part-per-trillion (ppt) levels in humans. Using isotope dilution high-resolution gas chromatography/ high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS), we measure the PCDDs, PCDFs, and PCBs in serum of a population of 78 women residing in an area near Seveso, Italy where a TCDD explosion occurred in 1976 and where furniture is manufactured. The average total dioxin-like toxic equivalents (TEQ) of these women was 25.3 ppt, lipid-adjusted, comparable to other parts of Europe. TCDD levels, however, were higher among the few women who resided in the exposed area in 1976. We examined the possibility of using the CALUX (chemical-activated luciferase gene expression) bioassay to estimate total TEQ in a small volume of plasma from this population. A total of 32 archived plasma specimens were selected for CALUX bioassay, based on the distribution of Total TEQ by HRGC/HRMS. The CALUX bioassay was performed blind to HRGC/HRMS results with 2 ml plasma per replicate analysis. Of 32 samples, 10 were below detection limits in the CALUX bioassay. For the 32 samples, the CALUX-TEQ averaged 25.4 ppt, lipid-adjusted (range: 0-127.6) and was not significantly different from the HRGC/HRMS Total TEQ average of 31.2 ppt, lipid-adjusted (range: 12.7-88.3) (t = 0.88, P = 0.38), however, the two measures were not significantly correlated (R(s) = 0.04, P=0.82). More validation of the CALUX bioassay with larger sample volume is needed before application as an exposure measure in large-scale epidemiologic studies of health effects of dioxin-like compounds.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

The association of time in the US and diet during pregnancy in low-income women of Mexican descent.

This study compared nutritional intake during pregnancy among women of Mexican descent according to country of birth (US vs. Mexico) and, for Mexico-born women, according to number of years lived in the US ( or= 11 years). A 72-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess dietary intake in 474 pregnant Mexico-born immigrants and US-born Mexican-Americans. Mexico-born women had significantly higher intakes of calories (P = 0.02), fibre (P < 0.001), vitamin A (P < 0.001), vitamin C (P = 0.03), vitamin E (P < 0.01), folate (P < 0.01), calcium (P < 0.001) and zinc (P = 0.02) from their diets than US-born women. Intakes of all nutrients except vitamin C and zinc remained significantly higher in Mexico-born women when nutrients from both diet and vitamin supplements were considered. Among Mexico-born women, increasing years of residence in the US was associated with lower intake of calories (P(trend) < 0.01), fibre (P(trend) < 0.01), folate (P(trend) = 0.03), iron (P(trend) = 0.05) and zinc (P(trend) = 0.03), although only the trend for iron remained significant when vitamin supplement sources were included. A large percentage of women had inadequate intake of vitamin E (58%), folate (61%), iron (77%) and zinc (47%) from their diets during pregnancy and these rates were higher in US-born women than Mexico-born women.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Organochlorine pesticides and male genital anomalies in the child health and development studies.

Increasing rates of cryptorchidism and hypospadias in human populations may be caused by exogenous environmental agents. We conducted a case-control study of serum levels of p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its major metabolite, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), and cryptorchidism and hypospadias in the Child Health and Development Study, a longitudinal cohort of pregnancies that occurred between 1959 and 1967, a period when DDT was produced and used in the United States. Serum was available from the mothers of 75 male children born with cryptorchidism, 66 with hypospadias, and 4 with both conditions. We randomly selected 283 controls from the cohort of women whose male babies were born without either of these conditions. Overall, we observed no statistically significant relationships or trends between outcomes and serum measures. After adjusting for maternal race, triglyceride level, and cholesterol level, compared with boys whose mothers had serum DDE levels < 27.0 ng/mL, boys whose mothers had serum DDE levels > or = 61.0 ng/mL had odds ratios of 1.34 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.51-3.48] for cryptorchidism and 1.18 (95% CI, 0.46-3.02) for hypospadias. For DDT, compared with boys whose mothers had serum DDT levels < 10.0 ng/mL, boys whose mothers had serum DDT levels > or = 20.0 ng/mL had adjusted odds ratios of 1.01 (95% CI, 0.44-2.28) for cryptorchidism and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.33-1.89) for hypospadias. This study does not support an association of DDT or DDE and hypospadias or cryptorchidism.

Adult↗