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Serum polybrominated diphenyl ether exposure and influence factors in blood donors of Wuxi adults from 2013 to 2016

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Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used as brominated flame retardants worldwide and are correlated with extensive environmental pollution and human health concerns. This study is aimed at analyzing the concentrations of PBDEs and at evaluating their temporal trends among a population of blood donors (n = 33) over a 4-year period. A total of 132 serum samples were used for PBDE detection. Nine PBDE congeners were quantified in serum samples by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The median concentrations of Σ9PBDEs in each year were 33.46, 29.75, 30.85, and 35.02 ng/g lipid, respectively. Most of the PBDE congeners showed a downward trend from 2013 to 2014 and then increased after 2014. No correlations between age and PBDE congener concentrations were observed, while concentrations of each congener and Σ9PBDE were nearly always lower in females than in males, especially in BDE-66, BDE-153, BDE-183, BDE-190, and Σ9PBDE. We also found that the intake of fish, fruit, and eggs in the daily diet was related to the exposure level of PBDEs. Our results suggest that, as deca-BDE is still produced and used in China, diet is an important exposure pathway for PBDEs, and follow-up studies will be required to improve our understanding of the behaviors of PBDE isomers in humans and the exposure levels.

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Data availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the participants for providing serum samples, the staff of Blood Centre for collecting and saving biological samples, and the research team for collecting and analyzing the data.

Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81803199); the Project of Wuxi Commission of Health, China (Grant No. Z201813, Q202256); and the Medical Key Discipline Program of Wuxi Health Commission (LCZX2021006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, The Affiliated Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuxi, China

    Limei Chen

  2. Research Base for Environment and Health in Wuxi, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuxi, 214023, China

    Limei Chen

  3. Wuxi Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, No. 48, Huaishu Lane, Wuxi, 214002, China

    Qitao Yin

  4. Wuxi Blood Center, Wuxi, 214021, China

    Lu Xu, Minyu Hua, Zhen Zhang, Yuqian Xu, Wei Xia, Huizhong Qian & Jun Hong

  5. College of Life and Environment Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China

    Jun Jin

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  1. Limei Chen
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  10. Jun Jin
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Limei Chen, Qitao Yin, Lu Xu, Lu Xu, Minyu Hua, Zhen Zhang, Yuqian Xu, Wei Xia, Huizhong Qian, Jun Hong, and Jun Jin. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Limei Chen and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Limei Chen.

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Ethical approval

The study protocol was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Jiangnan University School of Medicine.

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Written informed consent was obtained from each participating donor.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Lotfi Aleya

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Limei Chen and Qitao Yin are co-first authors.

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Chen, L., Yin, Q., Xu, L. et al. Serum polybrominated diphenyl ether exposure and influence factors in blood donors of Wuxi adults from 2013 to 2016. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 63932–63940 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26802-y

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