Prenatal exposure to lead in France: Cord-blood levels and associated factors: Results from the perinatal component of the French Longitudinal Study since Childhood (Elfe).

BACKGROUND: As a result of the ban on lead in gasoline on 2nd January 2000, the French population's exposure to lead has decreased in recent years. However, because of the acknowledged harmful cognitive effects of lead even at low levels, lead exposure remains a major public health issue. In France, few biomonitoring data are available for exposure to lead in pregnant women and newborn. The purpose of the perinatal component of the French human biomonitoring (HBM) program was to describe levels of various biomarkers of exposure to several environmental pollutants, including lead, among mother-baby pairs. In this paper, we aimed to describe the distribution of cord blood lead levels (CBLL) in French mother-baby pairs, and to estimate the contribution of the main lead exposure risk factors to these levels. METHOD: A total of 1968 mother-baby pairs selected from the participants of the perinatal component of the French HBM program were included in the study on lead. Lead levels were analyzed in cord blood collected at child delivery by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The data collected included biological sample, socio-demographic characteristics, environmental and occupational exposure, and information on dietary factors. RESULTS: CBLL were quantified for 99.5% of the sample. The CBLL geometric mean was 8.30 µg/l (95% CI [7.94-8.68]) with a 95th percentile of 24.3 µg/l (95% CI [20.7-27.1]). Factors significantly associated with CBLL were tap water consumption, alcohol consumption, shellfish consumption, vegetable consumption, bread consumption, smoking, and the mother being born in countries where lead is often used. CONCLUSION: This study provides the first reference value for CBLL in a random sample of mother-baby pairs not particularly exposed to high levels of lead (24.3 µg/l). A substantial decrease in CBLL over time was observed, which confirms the decrease of exposure to lead among the general population. CBLL observed in this French study were in the range of those found in recent surveys conducted in other countries.

Biomarkers of exposure to environmental contaminants in French pregnant women from the Elfe cohort in 2011.

BACKGROUND: As part of the perinatal component of the French Human Biomonitoring (HBM) program, biomarkers levels of various chemicals have been described among pregnant women having given birth in continental France in 2011 and who have been enrolled in the Elfe cohort (French Longitudinal Study since Childhood). This paper describes the design of the study and provides main descriptive results regarding exposure biomarkers levels. METHODS: Exposure biomarkers were measured in biological samples collected at delivery from pregnant women randomly selected among the participants in the clinical and biological component of the Elfe cohort (n=4145). The geometric mean and percentiles of the levels distribution were estimated for each biomarker. The sampling design was taken into account in order to obtain estimates representative of the French pregnant women in 2011. RESULTS: Results provide a nation-wide representative description of biomarker levels for important environmental contaminants among pregnant women who gave birth in France in 2011. Bisphenol A (BPA), and some metabolites of phthalates, pesticides (mainly pyrethroids), dioxins, furans, polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and metals (except uranium) were quantified in almost 100% of the pregnant women. Some compounds showed a downward trend compared to previous studies (lead, mercury), but others did not (pyrethroids) and should be further monitored. CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES: The present results show that French pregnant women are exposed to a wide variety of pollutants, including some that have been banned or restricted in France.