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

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

^*Corresponding author for this work

Preventive Medicine

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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.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	109294
Journal	Environmental Research
Volume	184
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109294
State	Published - May 2020

Funding

Funding for this study was provided by NIH grants P50 ES026086 and 4UH3OD023287-03 and an EPA grant 83615801-0 . Dr. Howe is supported by a NIEHS Pathway to Independence Award ( K99 ES030400 ). Dr. Farzan is supported by a NIEHS Pathway to Independence Award ( R00 ES024144 ) and a USC Provost's Fellowship. Dr. Garcia is supported by a Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research Award ( P50 ES026086-04S1 ). The funding agencies that supported this work had no role in the design; collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; the writing of this report; or the decision to submit the article for publication.

Keywords

Arsenic
Birth outcomes
Gestational weight gain
Hispanic
Low-income
Urban

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Biochemistry
General Environmental Science

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Howe, C. G., Farzan, S. F., Garcia, E., Jursa, T., Iyer, R., Berhane, K., Chavez, T. A., Hodes, T. L., Grubbs, B. H., Funk, W. E., Smith, D. R., Bastain, T. M., & Breton, C. V. (2020). Arsenic and birth outcomes in a predominately lower income Hispanic pregnancy cohort in Los Angeles. Environmental Research, 184, Article 109294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109294

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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 (Pinteraction = 0.02). The association between urinary monomethyl arsenic and GA at birth differed by pre-pregnancy BMI (Pinteraction<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.",

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AU - Howe, Caitlin G.

AU - Farzan, Shohreh F.

AU - Garcia, Erika

AU - Jursa, Thomas

AU - Iyer, Ramsunder

AU - Berhane, Kiros

AU - Chavez, Thomas A.

AU - Hodes, Tahlia L.

AU - Grubbs, Brendan H.

AU - Funk, William E.

AU - Smith, Donald R.

AU - Bastain, Theresa M.

AU - Breton, Carrie V.

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AB - 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 (Pinteraction = 0.02). The association between urinary monomethyl arsenic and GA at birth differed by pre-pregnancy BMI (Pinteraction<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.

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

Abstract

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