Ethylene oxide hemoglobin adducts in cord blood and offspring's size at birth: The NewGeneris European Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal ethylene oxide exposure may have adverse effects on fetal development. We examined the relationships between ethylene oxide hemoglobin (Hb) adduct levels and offspring's size at birth in a prospective European mother-child study. METHODS: This study included 1,106 singletons from the NewGeneris project (2006-2010) with ethylene oxide Hb adducts measured in cord blood. We examined the relationships between adduct levels and offspring's size at birth among all infants and separately among infants of non-smokers, using linear regression models for birth weight and birth head circumference and logarithmic binomial regression models for small-for-gestational age (SGA). We examined potential interactions between CYP2E1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cord blood and the effects of ethylene oxide Hb adduct levels on offspring birth size. RESULTS: Higher quartiles of adduct levels as a measure of exposure were associated with decreasing birth weight and head circumference in the overall population. Compared to infants in the lowest quartile, those in the highest quartile exhibited lower birth weight (-70.73 g, 95% CI: -141.16, -0.30) and reduced head circumference (-0.30 cm, 95% CI: -0.58, -0.02). We observed similar, albeit less pronounced, patterns among infants of non-smokers. There was no evidence of an association between ethylene oxide Hb adducts and risk of SGA, nor consistent evidence of an interaction with CYP2E1 polymorphisms on the association between EO Hb adduct levels and offspring's size at birth. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that higher ethylene oxide Hb adduct levels in cord blood are associated with a reduction in offspring birth size.

The Rise of Three Rs Centres and Platforms in Europe.

Public awareness and discussion about animal experiments and replacement methods has greatly increased in recent years. The term 'the Three Rs', which stands for the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal experiments, is inseparably linked in this context. A common goal within the Three Rs scientific community is to develop predictive non-animal models and to better integrate all available data from in vitro, in silico and omics technologies into regulatory decision-making processes regarding, for example, the toxicity of chemicals, drugs or food ingredients. In addition, it is a general concern to implement (human) non-animal methods in basic research. Toward these efforts, there has been an ever-increasing number of Three Rs centres and platforms established over recent years - not only to develop novel methods, but also to disseminate knowledge and help to implement the Three Rs principles in policies and education. The adoption of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes gave a strong impetus to the creation of Three Rs initiatives, in the form of centres and platforms. As the first of a series of papers, this article gives an overview of the European Three Rs centres and platforms, and their historical development. The subsequent articles, to be published over the course of ATLA's 50th Anniversary year, will summarise the current focus and tasks as well as the future and the plans of the Three Rs centres and platforms. The Three Rs centres and platforms are very important points of contact and play an immense role in their respective countries as 'on the ground' facilitators of Directive 2010/63/EU. They are also invaluable for the widespread dissemination of information and for promoting implementation of the Three Rs in general.

The Current Status and Work of Three Rs Centres and Platforms in Europe.

The adoption of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes has given a major push to the formation of Three Rs initiatives in the form of centres and platforms. These centres and platforms are dedicated to the so-called Three Rs, which are the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal use in experiments. ATLA's 50th Anniversary year has seen the publication of two articles on European Three Rs centres and platforms. The first of these was about the progressive rise in their numbers and about their founding history; this second part focuses on their current status and activities. This article takes a closer look at their financial and organisational structures, describes their Three Rs focus and core activities (dissemination, education, implementation, scientific quality/translatability, ethics), and presents their areas of responsibility and projects in detail. This overview of the work and diverse structures of the Three Rs centres and platforms is not only intended to bring them closer to the reader, but also to provide role models and show examples of how such Three Rs centres and platforms could be made sustainable. The Three Rs centres and platforms are very important focal points and play an immense role as facilitators of Directive 2010/63/EU 'on the ground' in their respective countries. They are also invaluable for the wide dissemination of information and for promoting the implementation of the Three Rs in general.

Mothers and children are related, even in exposure to chemicals present in common consumer products.

BACKGROUND: Phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA) and triclosan (TCS) are detectable in the vast majority of people. Most humans are continuously exposed to these chemicals due to their presence in food or in everyday consumer products. The measurement of these compounds in family members may help to explore the impact of major lifestyle factors on exposure. Mothers and (young) children are especially interesting to study, as they mostly share considerable parts of daily life together. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Phthalate metabolites, bisphenol A (BPA) and triclosan (TCS) were measured in first morning void urine, collected in mother-child pairs (n = 129) on the same day. The mothers (27-45y) and their children (6-11y) were recruited in the Brussels agglomeration and rural areas of Belgium in the context of the European COPHES-DEMOCOPHES human biomonitoring project. Face-to-face questionnaires gathered information on major exposure sources and lifestyle factors. Exposure determinants were assessed by multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The investigated compounds were detectable in nearly all mothers (92.8-100%) and all children (95.2-100%). The range (P90 vs. P10) of differences in urinary concentrations within each age group was for most compounds around 10-20 fold, and was very high for TCS up to 35 and 350-fold in children and mothers respectively. Some participants exceeded the tolerable daily intake guidelines as far as they were available from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Overall, for BPA, the urinary concentrations were similar among both age groups. Most urinary phthalate metabolites were higher in children compared to the mothers, except for monoethyl phthalate (MEP). TCS levels were generally higher in the mothers. Despite the difference in mothers' and children's urinary concentrations, the creatinine-corrected levels were correlated for all biomarkers (Spearman rank r = 0.32 to 0.66, p < 0.001). Furthermore, for phthalates, similar home and lifestyle factors were associated with the urinary concentrations in both age groups: home renovation during last two years or redecoration during the last year for di-ethyl phthalate (DEP); PVC in home for di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), di-iso-butyl phthalate (DiBP) and butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), and personal care products use for DiBP and DnBP. Based on questionnaire information on general food type consumption patterns, the exposure variability could not be explained. However, comparing the phthalate intake from the current study with earlier assessed Belgian food intake calculations for both ages, food in general was estimated to be the major intake source for di-ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP), with diminishing importance for BBzP, DiBP and DnBP. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm, that children and their mothers, sharing diets and home environments, also share exposure in common consumer products related chemicals. By collecting morning urine levels on the same day, and using basic questionnaires, suspected exposure routes could be unraveled.

Association of objectively measured occupational walking and standing still with low back pain: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: This cross-sectional study investigated the association of objectively measured walking and standing still time at work with low back pain (LBP) intensity among blue-collar workers. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: 187 workers attached two accelerometers for diurnal standing still and walking measurements, which were categorised using tertiles. Workers' self-reported LBP intensity (scale 0-9) was categorised into low (0-5) and high pain (6-9). RESULTS: Of the 187 workers, 17% reported a high level of LBP. Results of the multi-adjusted logistic regression analysis demonstrated a negative association between walking and high LBP intensity (OR 0.24 CL 95% 0.07 to 0.79). The results between standing still and high LBP intensity were mixed and non-significant. CONCLUSION: Blue-collar workers who walk more at work tend to have low LBP. These results should be verified using objective measures in a prospective design. Practitioner Summary: Most studies on the association of occupational walking and standing still with LBP have used poor self-reported measures. This study investigated the association of objectively measured time spent walking and standing still at work with LBP among blue-collar workers. A significant negative association between walking and LBP was found. However, because of the cross-sectional design, these results should be further investigated in prospective studies.

Micronucleus frequency in Danish schoolchildren and their mothers from the DEMOCOPHES population.

Micronucleus (MN) frequency is a biomarker for early genetic effects which is often used in human biomonitoring studies. Increased frequency of micronuclei has been associated with high levels of traffic exposure. Further high MN frequency was found predictive for cancer development in several studies of adults. In the present study, the MN frequency in blood samples from the Danish participants of the European pilot project DEMOCOPHES was analysed and related to the area of residence, self-reported and calculated exposure to road traffic as well as to mercury in hair and blood concentrations of persistent organic pollutants and dioxin-like activity measured in the same participants. The MN frequency analysis was performed with the cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay and included 100 children and 119 mothers. We found a significant correlation between mothers and children in the levels of micronuclei in 1000 binucleated T lymphocytes (‰MNBN) and in the proliferation index. Further the levels of ‰MNBN were significantly higher in mothers compared with their children. No significant associations were found for ‰MNBN for traffic related exposure in neither children nor their mothers. In children, a 2.5 times higher micronuclei in mononuclear T lymphocytes were found in children living within 50 m of a busy road, however, this was not found in mothers or in MNBN and the effect of exposure to road traffic on MN frequency needs further investigation. No significant associations were found between MN frequencies and the other biomarkers measured in the same participants.

Adhesion of Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes in ex vivo perfused placental tissue: a novel model of placental malaria.

BACKGROUND: Placental malaria occurs when Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes sequester in the placenta. Placental parasite isolates bind to chondroitin sulphate A (CSA) by expression of VAR2CSA on the surface of infected erythrocytes, but may sequester by other VAR2CSA mediated mechanisms, such as binding to immunoglobulins. Furthermore, other parasite antigens have been associated with placental malaria. These findings have important implications for placental malaria vaccine design. The objective of this study was to adapt and describe a biologically relevant model of parasite adhesion in intact placental tissue. RESULTS: The ex vivo placental perfusion model was modified to study adhesion of infected erythrocytes binding to CSA, endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) or a transgenic parasite where P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 expression had been shut down. Infected erythrocytes expressing VAR2CSA accumulated in perfused placental tissue whereas the EPCR binding and the transgenic parasite did not. Soluble CSA and antibodies specific against VAR2CSA inhibited binding of infected erythrocytes. CONCLUSION: The ex vivo model provides a novel way of studying receptor-ligand interactions and antibody mediated inhibition of binding in placental malaria.

Maternal pain influences her evaluation of recurrent pain in 6- to 11-year-old healthy children.

AIM: Children with recurrent pain rely on their parents to acknowledge it. We compared pain reported by healthy children and their mothers, to evaluate their agreement, and also looked at the effect of maternal health on children's pain. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey in Danish public schools. The participants were 131 healthy children aged 6-11 years and their mothers. The main outcome measures were the prevalence of recurrent pain reported by the mother and child, agreements between their reports and any associations between the child's pain, socio-demographic characteristics and maternal health factors. RESULTS: Recurrent pain was reported by nearly one-third (31%) of the children and their mothers. A quarter (25%) of the mother-child pairs disagreed on the existence of pain in the child, and a third (33%) disagreed on the frequency and duration. When the data were adjusted for child characteristics and socio-demographic parameters, mothers who had chronic pain were five times more likely to report frequent pain in their children than mothers without pain. This is a new finding. CONCLUSION: Maternal health factors may influence her evaluation of her child's pain. Family health and pain behaviour should be considered when recurrent pain is suspected in a child.

Causes of genome instability: the effect of low dose chemical exposures in modern society.

Genome instability is a prerequisite for the development of cancer. It occurs when genome maintenance systems fail to safeguard the genome's integrity, whether as a consequence of inherited defects or induced via exposure to environmental agents (chemicals, biological agents and radiation). Thus, genome instability can be defined as an enhanced tendency for the genome to acquire mutations; ranging from changes to the nucleotide sequence to chromosomal gain, rearrangements or loss. This review raises the hypothesis that in addition to known human carcinogens, exposure to low dose of other chemicals present in our modern society could contribute to carcinogenesis by indirectly affecting genome stability. The selected chemicals with their mechanisms of action proposed to indirectly contribute to genome instability are: heavy metals (DNA repair, epigenetic modification, DNA damage signaling, telomere length), acrylamide (DNA repair, chromosome segregation), bisphenol A (epigenetic modification, DNA damage signaling, mitochondrial function, chromosome segregation), benomyl (chromosome segregation), quinones (epigenetic modification) and nano-sized particles (epigenetic pathways, mitochondrial function, chromosome segregation, telomere length). The purpose of this review is to describe the crucial aspects of genome instability, to outline the ways in which environmental chemicals can affect this cancer hallmark and to identify candidate chemicals for further study. The overall aim is to make scientists aware of the increasing need to unravel the underlying mechanisms via which chemicals at low doses can induce genome instability and thus promote carcinogenesis.

Maternofetal transplacental transport of recombinant IgG antibodies lacking effector functions.

The neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) directs the transfer of maternal immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies across the placenta and thus provides the fetus and newborn with passive protective humoral immunity. Pathogenic maternal IgG antibodies will also be delivered via the placenta and can cause alloimmunity, which may be lethal. A novel strategy to control pathogenic antibodies would be administration of a nondestructive IgG antibody blocking antigen binding while retaining binding to FcRn. We report on 2 human IgG3 antibodies with a hinge deletion and a C131S point mutation (IgG3ΔHinge) that eliminate complement activation and binding to all classical Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) and to C1q while binding to FcRn is retained. Additionally, 1 of the antibodies has a single point mutation in the Fc (R435H) at the binding site for FcRn (IgG3ΔHinge:R435H). We compared transplacental transport with wild-type IgG1 and IgG3, and found transport across trophoblast-derived BeWo cells and ex vivo placenta perfusions with hierarchies as follows: IgG3ΔHinge:R435H>wild-type IgG1≥IgG3ΔHinge and IgG3ΔHinge:R435H=wild-type IgG1=wild-type IgG3>>>IgG3ΔHinge, respectively. Collectively, IgG3ΔHinge:R435H was transported efficiently from the maternal to the fetal placental compartment. Thus, IgG3ΔHinge:R435H may be a good candidate for transplacental delivery of a nondestructive antibody to the fetus to combat pathogenic antibodies.

Urinary cotinine levels and environmental tobacco smoke in mothers and children of Romania, Portugal and Poland within the European human biomonitoring pilot study.

The aim of this study was to explore data from the DEMOCOPHES study population for Romania, Portugal and Poland, in order to assess smoking patterns and the extent of ETS exposure and compare the national study samples with reference to the respective anti-smoking laws. The subset of the DEMOCOPHES study sample consisted of 360 children and their mothers (120 in each of the three countries - Romania (RO), Portugal (PT) and Poland (PL). Smoking was assessed using a detailed questionnaire for the participants, which addresses both active and passive smoking. This assessment uses exposure-relevant questionnaire data, in particular on the home environment and residence, socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle such as nutrition, smoking behavior, other exposure-relevant behavior and occupational history, as well as urinary cotinine and creatinine measurements. We performed general statistical analysis and innovative receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. Smoking prevalence as evaluated by the questionnaire was generally high, and higher than official statistics, which suggests some under-reporting in the countries, particularly in Romania. Urinary cotinine levels provided biochemical confirmation of the high and similar smoking prevalence for the three countries. Concerning ETS exposure, Romania presented significantly higher levels, for children as well as for non-smoking mothers, with Portugal showing significantly lower levels. Compared to non-smoking mothers, the children showed relatively higher ETS exposure levels in all three countries. The established country-specific optimal cut-off values in urinary cotinine to distinguish smokers from non-smokers vary more than those to discriminate ETS exposure extent in non-smoking mothers and children. Although different between countries, these values are a valuable output to monitor effectiveness of both national antismoking laws and educational programs in the three countries. The findings of this study point to the urgent need for stronger, more effective and well enforced smoke-free legislation in the three countries.

The Danish contribution to the European DEMOCOPHES project: A description of cadmium, cotinine and mercury levels in Danish mother-child pairs and the perspectives of supplementary sampling and measurements.

Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an important tool, increasingly used for measuring true levels of the body burdens of environmental chemicals in the general population. In Europe, a harmonized HBM program was needed to open the possibility to compare levels across borders. To explore the prospect of a harmonized European HBM project, DEMOCOPHES (DEMOnstration of a study to COordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale) was completed in 17 European countries. The basic measurements performed in all implemented countries of DEMOCOPHES included cadmium, cotinine and phthalate metabolites in urine and mercury in hair. In the Danish participants, significant correlations between mothers and children for mercury in hair and cotinine in urine were found. Mercury in hair was further significantly associated with intake of fish and area of residence. Cadmium was positively associated with BMI in mothers and an association between cadmium and cotinine was also found. As expected high cotinine levels were found in smoking mothers. For both mercury and cadmium significantly higher concentrations were found in the mothers compared to their children. In Denmark, the DEMOCOPHES project was co-financed by the Danish ministries of health, environment and food safety. The co-financing ministries agreed to finance a number of supplementary measurements of substances of current toxicological, public and regulatory interest. This also included blood sampling from the participants. The collected urine and blood samples were analyzed for a range of other persistent and non-persistent environmental chemicals as well as two biomarkers of effect. The variety of supplementary measurements gives the researchers further information on the exposure status of the participants and creates a basis for valuable knowledge on the pattern of exposure to various chemicals.

Urinary BPA measurements in children and mothers from six European member states: Overall results and determinants of exposure.

For the first time in Europe, both European-wide and country-specific levels of urinary Bisphenol A (BPA) were obtained through a harmonized protocol for participant recruitment, sampling and quality controlled biomarker analysis in the frame of the twin projects COPHES and DEMOCOPHES. 674 child-mother pairs were recruited through schools or population registers from six European member states (Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden). Children (5-12 y) and mothers donated a urine sample. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, life style, dietary habits, and educational level of the parents was provided by mothers. After exclusion of urine samples with creatinine values below 300 mg/L or above 3000 mg/L, 653 children and 639 mothers remained for which BPA was measured. The geometric mean (with 95% confidence intervals) and 90th percentile were calculated for BPA separately in children and in mothers and were named "European reference values". After adjustment for confounders (age and creatinine), average exposure values in each country were compared with the mean of the "European reference values" by means of a weighted analysis of variance. Overall geometric means of all countries (95% CI) adjusted for urinary creatinine, age and gender were 2.04 (1.87-2.24) µg/L and 1.88 (1.71-2.07) µg/L for children (n=653) and mothers (n=639), respectively. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify significant environmental, geographical, personal or life style related determinants. Consumption of canned food and social class (represented by the highest educational level of the family) were the most important predictors for the urinary levels of BPA in mothers and children. The individual BPA levels in children were significantly correlated with the levels in their mothers (r=0.265, p<0.001), which may suggest a possible common environmental/dietary factor that influences the biomarker level in each pair. Exposure of the general European population was well below the current health-based guidance values and no participant had BPA values higher than the health-based guidance values.

Mercury analysis in hair: Comparability and quality assessment within the transnational COPHES/DEMOCOPHES project.

Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an effective tool for assessing actual exposure to chemicals that takes into account all routes of intake. Although hair analysis is considered to be an optimal biomarker for assessing mercury exposure, the lack of harmonization as regards sampling and analytical procedures has often limited the comparison of data at national and international level. The European-funded projects COPHES and DEMOCOPHES developed and tested a harmonized European approach to Human Biomonitoring in response to the European Environment and Health Action Plan. Herein we describe the quality assurance program (QAP) for assessing mercury levels in hair samples from more than 1800 mother-child pairs recruited in 17 European countries. To ensure the comparability of the results, standard operating procedures (SOPs) for sampling and for mercury analysis were drafted and distributed to participating laboratories. Training sessions were organized for field workers and four external quality-assessment exercises (ICI/EQUAS), followed by the corresponding web conferences, were organized between March 2011 and February 2012. ICI/EQUAS used native hair samples at two mercury concentration ranges (0.20-0.71 and 0.80-1.63) per exercise. The results revealed relative standard deviations of 7.87-13.55% and 4.04-11.31% for the low and high mercury concentration ranges, respectively. A total of 16 out of 18 participating laboratories the QAP requirements and were allowed to analyze samples from the DEMOCOPHES pilot study. Web conferences after each ICI/EQUAS revealed this to be a new and effective tool for improving analytical performance and increasing capacity building. The procedure developed and tested in COPHES/DEMOCOPHES would be optimal for application on a global scale as regards implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Exposure determinants of cadmium in European mothers and their children.

The metal cadmium (Cd) is a widespread environmental pollutant with documented adverse effects on the kidneys and bones from long-term environmental exposure, but with insufficiently elucidated public health consequences such as risk of cardiovascular disease, hormone-related cancer in adults and developmental effects in children. This study is the first pan-European human biomonitoring project that succeeded in performing harmonized measurements of Cd in urine in a comparable way in mother-child couples from 16 European countries. The aim of the study was to evaluate the overall Cd exposure and significant determinants of Cd exposure. A study population of 1632 women (24-52 years of age), and 1689 children (5-12 years of age), from 32 rural and urban areas, was examined within a core period of 6 months in 2011-2012. Women were stratified as smokers and non-smokers. As expected, smoking mothers had higher geometric mean (gm) urinary cadmium (UCd; 0.24 µg/g crea; n=360) than non-smoking mothers (gm 0.18 µg/g crea; n=1272; p<0.0001), and children had lower UCd (gm 0.065 µg/g crea; n=1689) than their mothers at the country level. Non-smoking women exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at home had 14% (95% CI 1-28%) higher UCd than those who were not exposed to ETS at home (p=0.04). No influence of ETS at home or other places on UCd levels was detected in children. Smoking women with primary education as the highest educational level of the household had 48% (95% CI 18-86%) higher UCd than those with tertiary education (p=0.0008). The same observation was seen in non-smoking women and in children; however they were not statistically significant. In children, living in a rural area was associated with 7% (95% CI 1-13%) higher UCd (p=0.03) compared to living in an urban area. Children, 9-12 years had 7% (95% CI 1-13%) higher UCd (p=0.04) than children 5-8 years. About 1% of the mothers, and 0.06% of the children, exceeded the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) appointed by EFSA, corresponding to 1.0 µg Cd/g crea in urine. Poland had the highest UCd in comparison between the 16 countries, while Denmark had the lowest. Whether the differences between countries are related to differences in the degree of environmental Cd contamination or to differences in lifestyle, socioeconomic status or dietary patterns is not clear.

Lessons learnt on recruitment and fieldwork from a pilot European human biomonitoring survey.

Within the European Environment and Health Action Plan an initiative to establish a coherent human biomonitoring approach in Europe was started. The project COPHES (COnsortium to Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale ) developed recommendations for a harmonized conduct of a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey which came into action as the pilot study DEMOCOPHES (DEMOnstration of a study to COordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale). Seventeen European countries conducted a survey with harmonized instruments for, inter alia, recruitment, fieldwork and sampling, in autumn/winter 2011/2012. Based on the countries' experiences of conducting the pilot study, following lessons learnt were compiled: the harmonized fieldwork instruments (basic questionnaire, urine and hair sampling) turned out to be very valuable for future HBM surveys on the European scale. A school approach was favoured by most of the countries to recruit school-aged children according to the established guidelines and country specific experiences. To avoid a low participation rate, intensive communication with the involved institutions and possible participants proved to be necessary. The communication material should also include information on exclusion criteria and offered incentives. Telephone contact to the participants the day before fieldwork during the survey can prevent the forgetting of appointments and first morning urine samples. To achieve comparable results on the European scale, training of interviewers in all issues of recruitment, fieldwork and sampling through information material and training sessions is crucial. A survey involving many European countries needs time for preparation and conduct. Materials for quality control prepared for all steps of recruitment, fieldwork and sampling proved to be important to warrant reliable results.

Policy recommendations and cost implications for a more sustainable framework for European human biomonitoring surveys.

The potential of Human Biomonitoring (HBM) in exposure characterisation and risk assessment is well established in the scientific HBM community and regulatory arena by many publications. The European Environment and Health Strategy as well as the Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010 of the European Commission recognised the value of HBM and the relevance and importance of coordination of HBM programmes in Europe. Based on existing and planned HBM projects and programmes of work and capabilities in Europe the Seventh Framework Programme (FP 7) funded COPHES (COnsortium to Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale) to advance and improve comparability of HBM data across Europe. The pilot study protocol was tested in 17 European countries in the DEMOCOPHES feasibility study (DEMOnstration of a study to COordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale) cofunded (50%) under the LIFE+ programme of the European Commission. The potential of HBM in supporting and evaluating policy making (including e.g. REACH) and in awareness raising on environmental health, should significantly advance the process towards a fully operational, continuous, sustainable and scientifically based EU HBM programme. From a number of stakeholder activities during the past 10 years and the national engagement, a framework for sustainable HBM structure in Europe is recommended involving national institutions within environment, health and food as well as European institutions such as ECHA, EEA, and EFSA. An economic frame with shared cost implications for national and European institutions is suggested benefitting from the capacity building set up by COPHES/DEMOCOPHES.

Communication in a Human biomonitoring study: Focus group work, public engagement and lessons learnt in 17 European countries.

A communication strategy was developed by The Consortium to Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale (COPHES), as part of its objectives to develop a framework and protocols to enable the collection of comparable human biomonitoring data throughout Europe. The framework and protocols were tested in the pilot study DEMOCOPHES (Demonstration of a study to Coordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale). The aims of the communication strategy were to raise awareness of human biomonitoring, encourage participation in the study and to communicate the study results and their public health significance. It identified the audiences and key messages, documented the procedure for dissemination of results and was updated as the project progressed. A communication plan listed the tools and materials such as press releases, flyers, recruitment letters and information leaflets required for each audience with a time frame for releasing them. Public insight research was used to evaluate the recruitment material, and the feedback was used to improve the documents. Dissemination of results was coordinated in a step by step approach by the participating countries within DEMOCOPHES, taking into account specific national messages according to the needs of each country. Participants received individual results, unless they refused to be informed, along with guidance on what the results meant. The aggregate results and policy recommendations were then communicated to the general public and stakeholders, followed by dissemination at European level. Several lessons were learnt that may assist other future human biomonitoring studies. Recruitment took longer than anticipated and so social scientists, to help with community engagement, should be part of the research team from the start. As a European study, involving multiple countries, additional considerations were needed for the numerous organisations, different languages, cultures, policies and priorities. Therefore, communication documents should be seen as templates with essential information clearly indicated and the option for each country to tailor the material to reflect these differences. Future studies should consider setting up multidisciplinary networks of medical professionals and communication experts, and holding training workshops to discuss the interpretation of results and risk communication. Publicity and wide dissemination of the results helped to raise awareness of human biomonitoring to the general public, policy makers and other key stakeholders. Effective and timely communication, at all stages of a study, is essential if the potential of human biomonitoring research to improve public health is to be realised.

Fish consumption patterns and hair mercury levels in children and their mothers in 17 EU countries.

The toxicity of methylmercury (MeHg) in humans is well established and the main source of exposure is via the consumption of large marine fish and mammals. Of particular concern are the potential neurodevelopmental effects of early life exposure to low-levels of MeHg. Therefore, it is important that pregnant women, children and women of childbearing age are, as far as possible, protected from MeHg exposure. Within the European project DEMOCOPHES, we have analyzed mercury (Hg) in hair in 1799 mother-child pairs from 17 European countries using a strictly harmonized protocol for mercury analysis. Parallel, harmonized questionnaires on dietary habits provided information on consumption patterns of fish and marine products. After hierarchical cluster analysis of consumption habits of the mother-child pairs, the DEMOCOPHES cohort can be classified into two branches of approximately similar size: one with high fish consumption (H) and another with low consumption (L). All countries have representatives in both branches, but Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Portugal and Sweden have twice as many or more mother-child pairs in H than in L. For Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia the situation is the opposite, with more representatives in L than H. There is a strong correlation (r=0.72) in hair mercury concentration between the mother and child in the same family, which indicates that they have a similar exposure situation. The clustering of mother-child pairs on basis of their fish consumption revealed some interesting patterns. One is that for the same sea fish consumption, other food items of marine origin, like seafood products or shellfish, contribute significantly to the mercury levels in hair. We conclude that additional studies are needed to assess and quantify exposure to mercury from seafood products, in particular. The cluster analysis also showed that 95% of mothers who consume once per week fish only, and no other marine products, have mercury levels 0.55 µg/g. Thus, the 95th percentile of the distribution in this group is only around half the US-EPA recommended threshold of 1 µg/g mercury in hair. Consumption of freshwater fish played a minor role in contributing to mercury exposure in the studied cohort. The DEMOCOPHES data shows that there are significant differences in MeHg exposure across the EU and that exposure is highly correlated with consumption of fish and marine products. Fish and marine products are key components of a healthy human diet and are important both traditionally and culturally in many parts of Europe. Therefore, the communication of the potential risks of mercury exposure needs to be carefully balanced to take into account traditional and cultural values as well as the potential health benefits from fish consumption. European harmonized human biomonitoring programs provide an additional dimension to national HMB programs and can assist national authorities to tailor mitigation and adaptation strategies (dietary advice, risk communication, etc.) to their country's specific requirements.

In utero exposure to compounds with dioxin-like activity and birth outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Maternal exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds may affect fetal growth and development. We evaluated the association between in utero dioxin-like activity and birth outcomes in a prospective European mother-child study. METHODS: We measured dioxin-like activity in maternal and cord blood plasma samples collected at delivery using the Dioxin-Responsive Chemically Activated LUciferase eXpression (DR CALUX) bioassay in 967 mother-child pairs, in Denmark, Greece, Norway, Spain, and England. Multiple linear regression models were used to investigate the associations with birth weight, gestational age, and head circumference. RESULTS: Plasma dioxin-like activity was higher in maternal sample than in cord samples. Birth weight was lower with medium (-58 g [95% confidence interval (CI) = -176 to 62]) and high (-82 g [-216 to 53]) tertiles of exposure (cord blood) compared with the lowest tertile. Gestational age was shorter by approximately half a week in the highest compared with the lowest (-0.4 weeks [95% CI = -0.8 to -0.1]). This association was stronger in boys than in girls, although the statistical evidence for interaction was weak (P = 0.22). Analysis based on CALUX-toxic equivalents expressed per milliliter of plasma showed similar trends. We found no association between dioxin-like activity in maternal plasma and birth outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this international general population study suggest an association between low-level prenatal dioxin-like activity and shorter gestational age, particularly in boys, with weaker associations for birth weight.