Arsenic and birth outcomes in a predominately lower income Hispanic pregnancy cohort in Los Angeles

Caitlin G Howe; Shohreh F Farzan; Erika Garcia; Thomas Jursa; Ramsunder Iyer; Kiros Berhane; Thomas A Chavez; Tahlia L Hodes; Brendan H Grubbs; William E Funk; Donald R Smith; Theresa M Bastain; Carrie V Breton

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2020.109294

Arsenic and birth outcomes in a predominately lower income Hispanic pregnancy cohort in Los Angeles

Environ Res. 2020 May:184:109294. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109294. Epub 2020 Feb 27.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, 2001 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA. Electronic address: caitlin.howe@usc.edu.
² Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, 2001 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA. Electronic address: sffarzan@usc.edu.
³ Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, 2001 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA. Electronic address: garc991@usc.edu.
⁴ Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA. Electronic address: tpjursa@usc.edu.
⁵ Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 680 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA. Electronic address: sarvesh@enmedmicroanalytics.com.
⁶ Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, 2001 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA. Electronic address: kiros@usc.edu.
⁷ Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, 2001 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA. Electronic address: tachavez@usc.edu.
⁸ Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, 2001 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA. Electronic address: thodes@usc.edu.
⁹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Keck School of Medicine, 2020 Zonal Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA. Electronic address: brendan.grubbs@med.usc.edu.
¹⁰ Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 680 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA. Electronic address: w-funk@northwestern.edu.
¹¹ Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA. Electronic address: drsmith@ucsc.edu.
¹² Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, 2001 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA. Electronic address: bastain@usc.edu.
¹³ Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, 2001 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA. Electronic address: breton@usc.edu.

Abstract

Prenatal arsenic exposure has been associated with reduced fetal growth and increased risk for preterm birth, but most studies have been conducted in highly exposed populations outside the U.S. or in non-Hispanic populations in the rural U.S. The objectives of the current study were to: 1) examine the impact of early pregnancy exposure to arsenic on birth weight and gestational age at birth in a predominately lower income Hispanic pregnancy cohort in urban Los Angeles and 2) compare multiple biomarkers of arsenic exposure (blood, urine, and hair) assessed in early pregnancy (mean ± SD gestational age at biospecimen collection: 14 ± 4 weeks). Total arsenic (blood, hair) was measured by ICP-MS and speciated arsenic (urine) was measured by HPLC coupled to ICP-MS. Associations between log₂-transformed arsenic measures and birth outcomes were evaluated using multivariable linear regression. A doubling in hair arsenic was associated with a 72.2 g (95% CI: -144.3, -0.1, P = 0.05) lower birth weight, after adjusting for potential confounders and gestational age at birth. A similar but non-significant trend was observed for blood arsenic, but not urine arsenic. The inverse association between hair arsenic and birth weight was more pronounced among infants whose mothers gained greater amounts of weight during pregnancy (P_interaction = 0.02). The association between urinary monomethyl arsenic and GA at birth differed by pre-pregnancy BMI (P_interaction<0.01). This study provides evidence that even at relatively low levels of exposure, arsenic exposure (measured in hair samples collected in early pregnancy) may adversely affect fetal growth in this understudied population, particularly in combination with greater gestational weight gain. Future studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings and to further investigate some of the inconsistencies observed for the different arsenic biomarkers evaluated.

Keywords: Arsenic; Birth outcomes; Gestational weight gain; Hispanic; Low-income; Urban.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Arsenic* / analysis
Arsenic* / toxicity
Birth Weight
Cesarean Section
Female
Hispanic or Latino
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Los Angeles / epidemiology
Maternal Exposure* / adverse effects
Middle Aged
Pregnancy
Premature Birth* / chemically induced
Premature Birth* / epidemiology
Young Adult

Substances

Arsenic

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding