Persistent Organic Pollutants in Austrian Human Breast Milk Collected between 2013 and 2016.

Breast milk holds an immense nutritional value as it contains health-promoting substances in a unique, optimal form. Additionally, breast milk's significance extends to health and environmental protection, as it serves as an indicator of both maternal and infant exposure. In this study, breast milk samples collected in 2013 and in 2014-2016 from mothers in Vienna (Austria) were analysed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as well as further substances which have been listed under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) due to their persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic properties. The total concentration of the PBDE congeners in the samples (n = 18, sampled 2013) ranged from 0.055 to 52 ng/g lipid, and from 0.002 to 2.5 ng/g breast milk. In the pooled sample, the sum of PBDEs was detected at a level of 4.4 ng/g lipid. Based on the 2014-2016 study population, certain PFAS were detected in all samples (n = 40). Exposure to the sum of four specific PFAS including perfluorooctanesulphonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluoro-n-nonanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluoro-1-hexanesulfonate (PFHxS) ranged between 0.014 and 0.12 ng/L breast milk. In the pooled sample, PFOS and PFOA were found in concentrations of 0.025 ng/g and of 0.045 ng/g, respectively. In addition, the first generation of POPs, mainly organochlorine compounds, was measured in a pooled sample of breast milk from participants sampled in 2014-2016 as part of the WHO/UNEP breast milk monitoring program and compared to the POPs measured in pooled samples collected in 1987/1988 and 1992/1993, respectively. Therefore, this paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the Stockholm Convention on POPs by comparing the Austrian results from the WHO/UNEP global breast milk study from 1987 to 2016. However, the data also show that, despite these reductions, health-relevant levels are still being reached, particularly in terms of children's health when the presence of the new generation of POPs, such as PBDEs and PFAS, in human breast milk is taken into account.

Lessons learned from a comparison of evidence-based research in pregnant opioid-dependent women.

OBJECTIVES: Lessons learned in research and treatment of opioid dependence demonstrate the need to include pregnant women in clinical trials. METHODS: Two double-blind, double-dummy, randomized controlled trials (Pilot study, European sample(†) of MOTHER-trial) comparing buprenorphine and methadone in opioid-dependent pregnant women were conducted. In both studies, participants received voucher-based incentives for attendance and completion of study assessments. In the MOTHER trial, participants additionally received escalating voucher incentives for drug-free urine samples. Neonatal abstinence syndrome was treated with oral morphine solution based on standardized modified Finnegan scores. RESULTS: After a mean treatment period of 13.79 weeks in the Pilot study (PS, n = 18) and 20.78 weeks in the MOTHER-trial (MT, n = 41), respectively (p < 0.001), PS patients delivered at mean doses of 14.00 mg buprenorphine/52.50 mg methadone and MT participants at 13.44 mg buprenorphine/63.68 mg methadone. Nonsignificant differences regarding dropout rates were found (22% in PS versus 10% in MT), but dropout was significantly earlier in the MT (p = 0.013). Significantly higher rates of concomitant consumption of opioids and benzodiazepines occurred in the PS compared with the MT (p < 0.001), however, with no significant differences in neonatal data between both settings. CONCLUSIONS: Early treatment enrolment combined with contingency management contributes to reduced illicit drug use throughout pregnancy, surprisingly without influencing neonatal outcome parameters.

Gene Variants Determine Placental Transfer of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), Mercury (Hg) and Lead (Pb), and Birth Outcome: Findings From the UmMuKi Bratislava-Vienna Study.

Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), bisphenol A (BPA), lead (Pb), total mercury (THg), and methylmercury (MeHg) can affect fetal development. Factors influencing placental transfer rate of these toxins are poorly investigated. Whether prenatal exposure to pollutants has an effect on birth weight is incompletely understood. We therefore aimed (1) to determine placental transfer rates of PFAS, BPA, Pb, THg, and MeHg, (2) to analyze relationships between fetal exposure and birth outcome and (3) to analyze gene variants as mediators of placental transfer rates and birth outcome. Two hundred healthy pregnant women and their newborns participated in the study. BPA, 16 PFAS, THg, MeHg, and Pb were determined using HPLCMS/MS (BPA, PFAS), HPLC-CV-ICPMS (MeHg), CV-AFS (THg), and GF-AAS (Pb). Questionnaires and medical records were used to survey exposure sources and birth outcome. 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms and two deletion polymorphisms were determined by real-time PCR from both maternal and newborn blood. Genotype-phenotype associations were analyzed by categorical regression and logistic regression analysis. Specific gene variants were associated with altered placental transfer of PFAS (ALAD Lys59Asn, ABCG2 Gln141Lys), THg (UGT Tyr85Asp, GSTT1del, ABCC1 rs246221) and Pb (GSTP1 Ala114Val). A certain combination of three gene polymorphisms (ABCC1 rs246221, GCLM rs41303970, HFE His63Asp) was over-represented in newborns small for gestational age. 36% of Austrian and 75% of Slovakian mothers had levels exceeding the HBM guidance value I (2 µg/L) of the German HBM Commission for PFOA. 13% of newborns and 39% of women had Ery-Pb levels above 24 µg/kg, an approximation for the BMDL01 of 12 µg/L set by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Our findings point to the need to minimize perinatal exposures to protect fetal health, especially those genetically predisposed to increased transplacental exposure.

Neonatal neurobehavior effects following buprenorphine versus methadone exposure.

AIM: To determine the effects of in utero exposure to methadone or buprenorphine on infant neurobehavior. DESIGN: Three sites from the Maternal Opioid Treatment: Human Experimental Research (MOTHER) study, a double-blind, double-dummy, randomized clinical trial participated in this substudy. SETTING: Medical Centers that provided comprehensive maternal care to opioid-dependent pregnant women in Baltimore, MD, Providence, RI and Vienna, Austria. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-nine full-term infants. MEASUREMENTS: The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) was administered to a subgroup of infants on postpartum days 3, 5, 7, 10, 14-15 and 28-30. FINDINGS: While neurobehavior improved for both medication conditions over time, infants exposed in utero to buprenorphine exhibited fewer stress-abstinence signs (P < 0.001), were less excitable (P < 0.001) and less over-aroused (P < 0.01), exhibited less hypertonia (P < 0.007), had better self-regulation (P < 0.04) and required less handling (P < 0.001) to maintain a quiet alert state relative to in utero methadone-exposed infants. Infants who were older when they began morphine treatment for withdrawal had higher self-regulation scores (P < 0.01), and demonstrated the least amount of excitability (P < 0.02) and hypertonia (P < 0.02) on average. Quality of movement was correlated negatively with peak NAS score (P < 0.01), number of days treated with morphine for NAS (P < 0.01) and total amount of morphine received (P < 0.03). Excitability scores were related positively to total morphine dose (P < 0.03). CONCLUSION: While neurobehavior improves during the first month of postnatal life for in utero agonist medication-exposed neonates, buprenorphine exposure results in superior neurobehavioral scores and less severe withdrawal than does methadone exposure.

Perinatal lead and mercury exposure in Austria.

OBJECTIVE: The heavy metals lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants with high neurotoxic potential. We aimed to compare perinatal Pb and Hg concentrations and to explore the potential association between Pb and Hg exposure and newborn anthropometry. STUDY DESIGN: Pregnant women were recruited in 2005 at the General Hospital Vienna for participation in this longitudinal study. Pb and Hg concentrations were measured in maternal blood and hair, placenta, cord blood, meconium, and breast milk of 53 mother-child pairs by CV-AAS, GF-AAS, and HPLC-CV-ICPMS. We conducted bivariate analyses and categorical regression analysis (CATREG) to evaluate the determinants of Pb and Hg exposure, and of infant anthropometry. RESULTS: Median Pb and total Hg contents were low, i.e., 25 µg/L (maternal blood-Pb), 13 µg/L (cord blood-Pb), 0.7 µg/L (maternal blood-Hg), and 1.1 µg/L (cord blood-Hg). Hg levels in maternal and fetal tissues were frequently correlated (r>0.3, P<0.05, respectively). Regarding Pb, only maternal blood and cord blood concentrations correlated (P=0.043). Cord blood levels indicated higher Hg exposure but lower Pb exposure relative to maternal blood contents. Adjusted CATREG models indicated the significant predictors of birth length (placenta-Pb, gestational length, meconium-Pb), birth weight (placenta-Pb, gestational length, maternal blood-Pb), and head circumference (maternal education, maternal height). Besides one significant correlation between maternal hair Hg and birth length, the mercury levels were not associated with newborn anthropometry. CONCLUSIONS: Our data implicate that different modes of action may exist for placentar transfer of Pb and Hg as well as that low Pb exposure levels can result in lower birth weight. The findings related to newborn anthropometry need to be confirmed by the examination of larger study groups. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms of Pb and Hg transfer via the placenta, and to explore how prenatal Pb exposure is related to intrauterine growth.