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Assessment of exposure to trace metals in a cohort of pregnant women from an urban center by urine analysis in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy

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Abstract

Prenatal exposure to trace metals, whether they are essential, non-essential, or toxic, must be assessed for their potential health effects in the offspring. Herein is reported an approach to this end which involved collection of urine samples during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy from 489 mothers from Sabadell (Catalonia, Spain), a highly industrialized town. These samples were analyzed for cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), arsenic (As), molybdenum (Mo), cadmium (Cd), antimonium (Sb), cesium (Cs), thallium (Tl), and lead (Pb). An acid digestion method was developed and validated for inductively coupled plasma quadruple mass spectrometry (Q-ICP-MS) analysis of these 12 metals. The median concentrations of metals ranged from 0.13 to 290 μg/g creatinine, the highest levels were found for Zn and the lowest for Th. The mean concentrations of most metals except As, Ni, Th, and Pb showed statistically significant differences between both trimesters. The concentrations of Mo, Se, Cd, Cs, and Sb were higher in the first than in the third trimester, whereas the opposite was found for Co, Cu, and Zn. The concentrations of all metals in both sampling periods showed statistically significant correlations (p < 0.01 for Mo and Cu, p < 0.001 for the others). The significant correlations of metal urine concentrations in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy suggest that the observed differences between both periods are related to physiological changes. Accordingly, the measured urine concentrations during either the first or third trimesters can be used as estimates of exposure during pregnancy and can serve as markers for prenatal intake of these metals in the studied cohort.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Mercè Cabanas from the Geochemistry department of IDAEA for performing the ICP-MS analysis. The research presented here was developed as part of the INMA project. The authors are grateful to the mothers who participated in the study and to the Primary Care Center II Sant Fèlix of Sabadell. Financial support from projects CROME-LIFE (LIFE12 ENV/GR/001040), HEALS (FP7-ENV-2013- 603946), Consolider-Ingenio GRACCIE (CSD2007-00067), and MARATO TV3 090431 is acknowledged. This paper was also sponsored by research group 2009SGR1178 from Generalitat de Catalunya.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Jordi Girona, 18., 08034, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Marta Fort, Marta Cosín-Tomás, Joan O. Grimalt & Xavier Querol

  2. Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Maribel Casas & Jordi Sunyer

  3. Hospital del Mar, Research Institute (IMIM), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Maribel Casas & Jordi Sunyer

  4. CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Maribel Casas & Jordi Sunyer

  5. Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Jordi Sunyer

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  1. Marta Fort
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  2. Marta Cosín-Tomás
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  3. Joan O. Grimalt
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  4. Xavier Querol
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  5. Maribel Casas
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  6. Jordi Sunyer
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Correspondence to Joan O. Grimalt.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Fort, M., Cosín-Tomás, M., Grimalt, J.O. et al. Assessment of exposure to trace metals in a cohort of pregnant women from an urban center by urine analysis in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 9234–9241 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2827-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2827-6

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