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Residues of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Breast Milk Collected from Jinhua (China) and the Influence of Exercise Habit: Levels and the Potential Health Effects

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Abstract

Breast milk is one of the best biological media to identify the pollutant exposure and the associated health risk. This study investigated the residues of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in breast milk of the general population from Jinhua, China. The potential influencing factors as well as the potential health effects on infants and mothers were analyzed. Results shows that only four of the 16 PAH species were detectable, and their mean concentrations were ranked as naphthalene (52.4 ng/g lipid) > phenanthrene (38.6 ng/g lipid) > fluoranthene (4.5 ng/g lipid) > pyrene (1.4 ng/g lipid). The average level of total PAHs was 97.0 ng/g lipid, which was lower when compared to other areas and countries. The statistical analysis showed that parity, especially the exercise habit was the key factor influencing PAH residue in breast milk. Women with first birth tended to have higher PAH levels. Frequent physical exercising can lower down PAH levels, reduce PAHs detection rate, and decrease PAH species in breast milk. The estimated daily intake of PAHs for infants through breast milk was 0.262 [not detectable (ND)–1.008] ng/kg bwt/day BaP in often-exercise group, and 0.544 (ND–1.568) ng/kg bwt/day BaP in seldom-exercise group, which were well below the regulated values set by UK, USEPA, JECFA and EFSA. However, the cancer risk of infants in the seldom-exercise group (1.9 × 10−6) exceeded the acceptable level of 10−6. Correlation analysis also revealed that PAHs residues in mother have no potential adverse effects on fetal growth, but may be linked with dysmenorrhea of mother. The results of this study provided valuable knowledge for mitigating the potential hazards of PAHs exposure to mothers and infants, and can serve as a fundamental basis for devising effective prevention and control measures aimed at minimizing PAHs exposure.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Foundation of Science and Technology Bureau of Jinhua (No. 2020-4-089), National Natural Science Foundation of China (22076171), and Basic Public Welfare Research Project in Zhejiang Province (LGF21B070004, LQ21D010008) which the authors highly appreciate.We are also grateful to the women who participated in this study.

Funding

This study was supported by the Foundation of Science and Technology Bureau of Jinhua (No. 2020-4-089), National Science Foundation of China (22076171), and Basic Public Welfare Research Project in Zhejiang Province (LG21B070004, LQ21D010008).

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  1. Qianfeng He and Xiaoge Zhang have made equal contribution to the paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, People’s Republic of China

    Qianfeng He, Xiaoge Zhang, Lihong Kuang, Haotian Xu, Zeqiong Xu, Hongjie Sun, Hongjun Lin & Huachang Hong

  2. Jinhua Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinhua, 321000, People’s Republic of China

    Yizhong Hou & Fangqu Huang

  3. Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, NT, Hong Kong

    Wenjing Deng

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He, Q., Zhang, X., Kuang, L. et al. Residues of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Breast Milk Collected from Jinhua (China) and the Influence of Exercise Habit: Levels and the Potential Health Effects. Expo Health 16, 377–387 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-023-00560-1

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