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Low birth weight of Vietnamese infants is related to their mother’s dioxin and glucocorticoid levels

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Abstract

We aimed to determine the relationship between dioxin congeners in maternal breast milk and maternal glucocorticoid levels with newborn birth weight after nearly 45 years of use of herbicides in the Vietnam War. The study subjects comprised 58 mother–infant pairs in a region with high dioxin levels in the soil (hotspot) and 62 pairs from a control region. Dioxin levels in maternal breast milk were measured by HRGC-HRMS. Salivary glucocorticoid levels were determined by LC-MS/MS. Dioxin congener levels in mothers from the hotspot were found to be two to fivefold higher than those in mothers from the control region. Birth weight was inversely correlated with 2,3,7,8-TeCDD and 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF congener levels. The rate of newborns whose birth weight was less than 2500 g was threefold higher in the hotspot (12 %) than in the control region (4 %). Salivary glucocorticoid levels in mothers with low birth weight infants were significantly higher than those in the normal birth weight group. Low birth weight of Vietnamese newborns in a hotspot for dioxin levels is related to some dioxin congener levels and high glucocorticoid levels in mothers. This finding in mother–infant pairs suggests that excess maternal glucocorticoid levels are related to dioxin burden and they result in low birth weight.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the medical staff at Kim Bang and Phu Cat medical centers for their assistance. We would also like to thank all of the women and their families who participated in the study. Furthermore, we thank the officers of the 10–80 Division, Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam, for making this study possible.

This study was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (19209021.) and Pfizer Health Research Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hanoi Medical University, No. 1 Ton That Tung, Dong Da, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Dao Van Tung, Pham Thien Ngoc, Ngo Van Toan & Nguyen Ngoc Hung

  2. Viettiep Hospital, No. 1 Nha Thuong, Le Chan, Hai Phong, Vietnam

    Dao Van Tung

  3. Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Medical Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, 5-11-80 Kodatsuno, Kanazawa, 920-0942, Japan

    Teruhiko Kido, Seijiro Honma, Ho Dung Manh, Dang Duc Nhu, Rie Okamoto & Shoko Maruzeni

  4. Faculty of Pharmacy, Lac Hong University, Bien Hoa, Vietnam

    Ho Dung Manh

  5. School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Dang Duc Nhu

  6. Department of Public Health, Kanazawa Medical University, 1-1 Daigaku, Uchinada, Ishikawa, Japan

    Shoko Maruzeni, Muneko Nishijo & Hideaki Nakagawa

  7. Environment Administration, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, No. 67 Nguyen Du Street, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Nguyen Hung Minh & Le Ke Son

Authors
  1. Dao Van Tung
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  2. Teruhiko Kido
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  3. Seijiro Honma
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  4. Ho Dung Manh
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  5. Dang Duc Nhu
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  6. Rie Okamoto
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  7. Shoko Maruzeni
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  8. Muneko Nishijo
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  9. Hideaki Nakagawa
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  10. Pham Thien Ngoc
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  11. Ngo Van Toan
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  12. Nguyen Ngoc Hung
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  13. Nguyen Hung Minh
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  14. Le Ke Son
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Teruhiko Kido.

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Ethics

The Medical Ethics Committee of Kanazawa University approved this study. The permission number was Health 89 in 2007. All lactating mothers provided written informed consent.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Van Tung, D., Kido, T., Honma, S. et al. Low birth weight of Vietnamese infants is related to their mother’s dioxin and glucocorticoid levels. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 10922–10929 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6233-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6233-0

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