Concentrations of Neonicotinoid insecticides and their metabolites in multiple urine samples collected from pregnant women in Japan

Neeranuch Suwannarin; Tomohiko Isobe; Yukiko Nishihama; Yuki Ito; Michihiro Kamijima; Takeshi Ebara; Mayumi Sugiura-Ogasawara; Naomi Nishikawa; Kunihiko Nakai; Yumina Minamikawa; Shoji F Nakayama

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.117506

Concentrations of Neonicotinoid insecticides and their metabolites in multiple urine samples collected from pregnant women in Japan

Environ Res. 2023 Oct 28:117506. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117506. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Japan Environment and Children's Study Office, Health and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0086, Japan. Electronic address: suwannarin.neeranuch@nies.go.jp.
² Japan Environment and Children's Study Office, Health and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0086, Japan. Electronic address: isobe.tomohiko@nies.go.jp.
³ Japan Environment and Children's Study Office, Health and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0086, Japan; Paediatric Environmental Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577, Japan. Electronic address: yukikon@md.tsukuba.ac.jp.
⁴ Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan. Electronic address: yukey@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp.
⁵ Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan. Electronic address: kamijima@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp.
⁶ Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan; Department of Ergonomics, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan. Electronic address: ebara@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp.
⁷ Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan. Electronic address: og.mym@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp.
⁸ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Nagoya City University West Medical Centre, Nagoya, 462-8508, Japan. Electronic address: ninaomi703@yahoo.co.jp.
⁹ School of Sport and Health Science, Tokai Gakuen University, Nishinohora, 21-233, Miyoshi, 470-0207, Aichi, Japan. Electronic address: nakai-k@tokaigakuen-u.ac.jp.
¹⁰ Japan Environment and Children's Study Office, Health and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0086, Japan; Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, Doctoral Program in Public Health, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577, Japan. Electronic address: s2230465@s.tsukuba.ac.jp.
¹¹ Japan Environment and Children's Study Office, Health and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0086, Japan. Electronic address: fabre@nies.go.jp.

PMID: 39492493
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117506

Abstract

Exposure to low doses of neonicotinoid (NEO) insecticides during pregnancy may have a negative impact on the neurodevelopment of children. Biomarkers are frequently used to investigate the exposure and its health effects in environmental epidemiology. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the utility of urinary biomarkers of NEO exposure by calculating intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs). Urine samples were collected from 30 pregnant women who were non-smokers and living in a central part of Japan, between 12 and 22 weeks of gestation. We collected first morning voided (FMV) urine and afternoon spot (PM) urine samples on the same day on five occasions within a 2-week period. The urinary concentrations of NEO and their metabolites (NEO/m) were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Normalisation to the specific gravity and creatinine concentration was used in the calculation of ICC. The number of urine samples required to obtain a reliable biomarker estimate of NEO exposure was calculated. The most frequently detected NEO/m was N-desmethyl-acetamiprid (N-dm-ACE), followed by clothianidin (CLO), thiamethoxam (THX) and dinotefuran (DIN), in both FMV and PM urine samples. The ICC calculations showed poor reproducibility for the measurement of CLO and THX concentrations (ICCs ≤0.25) in both FMV and PM urine samples and for DIN (ICC ≤0.29) in the FMV urine samples, and moderate reproducibility was identified for N-dm-ACE (ICC >0.60) in both FMV and PM urine samples and for DIN (ICC >0.40) in the PM urine samples. A minimum of 1-19 spot urine samples per individual was required to provide a reliable biomarker estimate over a 2 week period. These results suggest that pregnant Japanese women are frequently exposed to NEOs, and that, with the exception of urinary N-dm-ACE, a single measurement of urinary NEO concentrations may not be an appropriate method of characterising overall exposure.

Keywords: Biomarker; Human exposure; Intra-class correlation coefficient; Metabolite; Neonicotinoid; Pregnant woman.