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Issah I, Duah MS, Arko-Mensah J, Bawua SA, Agyekum TP, Fobil JN. Exposure to metal mixtures and adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes: A systematic review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 908:168380. [PMID: 37963536 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal exposure to metal mixtures is associated with adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes like low birth weight, preterm birth, and small for gestational age. However, prior studies have used individual metal analysis, lacking real-life exposure scenarios. OBJECTIVES This systematic review aims to evaluate the strength and consistency of the association between metal mixtures and pregnancy and birth outcomes, identify research gaps, and inform future studies and policies in this area. METHODS The review adhered to the updated Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) checklist, along with the guidelines for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies of etiology (COSMOS-E). Our data collection involved searching the PubMed, MEDLINE, and SCOPUS databases. We utilized inclusion criteria to identify relevant studies. These chosen studies underwent thorough screening and data extraction procedures. Methodological quality evaluations were conducted using the NOS framework for cohort and case-control studies, and the AXIS tool for cross-sectional studies. RESULTS The review included 34 epidemiological studies, half of which focused on birth weight, and the others investigated neonate size, preterm birth, small for gestational age, miscarriage, and placental characteristics. The findings revealed significant associations between metal mixtures (including mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), barium (Ba), cesium (Cs), copper (Cu), selenium (Se), and chromium (Cr)) and adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, demonstrating diverse effects and potential interactions. CONCLUSION In conclusion, this review consistently establishes connections between metal exposure during pregnancy and adverse consequences for birth weight, gestational age, and other vital birth-related metrics. This review further demonstrates the need to apply mixture methods with caution but also shows that they can be superior to traditional approaches. Further research is warranted to deeper understand the underlying mechanisms and to develop effective strategies for mitigating the potential risks associated with metal mixture exposure during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ibrahim Issah
- West Africa Center for Global Environmental & Occupational Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana; Department of Surgery, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Tamale, Ghana.
| | - Mabel S Duah
- West Africa Center for Global Environmental & Occupational Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana; Department of Biological, Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana; West African Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - John Arko-Mensah
- West Africa Center for Global Environmental & Occupational Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana; Department of Biological, Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Serwaa A Bawua
- West Africa Center for Global Environmental & Occupational Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana; Department of Biological, Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Thomas P Agyekum
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana
| | - Julius N Fobil
- West Africa Center for Global Environmental & Occupational Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana; Department of Biological, Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
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Corchero-Falcón MDR, Gómez-Salgado J, García-Iglesias JJ, Camacho-Vega JC, Fagundo-Rivera J, Carrasco-González AM. Risk Factors for Working Pregnant Women and Potential Adverse Consequences of Exposure: A Systematic Review. Int J Public Health 2023; 68:1605655. [PMID: 36874222 PMCID: PMC9977819 DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2023.1605655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: To assess the risk factors perceived as stressors by pregnant women in the work environment and the possible adverse consequences of such exposure for the normal development of pregnancy. Methods: Systematic review, guided by the PRISMA guidelines, and using Pubmed, Web of Science, Dialnet, SciELO, and REDIB databases. Methodological quality was assessed using the critical appraisal tools for non-randomised studies of the Joanna Briggs Institute. Results: A total of 38 studies were included. The main risk factors found in the work environment of pregnant women were chemical, psychosocial, physical-ergonomic-mechanical factors, and other work-related factors. The main adverse consequences of exposure to these factors include low birth weight, preterm birth, miscarriage, hypertension and pre-eclampsia, as well as various obstetric complications. Conclusion: During pregnancy, working conditions that are considered acceptable in normal situations may not be so during this stage due to the major changes that occur during pregnancy. Many obstetric effects may have an important impact in the mother's psychological status; therefore, it is important to optimise working conditions during this stage and to reduce or eliminate possible risks.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Juan Gómez-Salgado
- Department of Sociology, Social Work and Public Health, Faculty of Labour Sciences, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain.,Safety and Health Postgraduate Programme, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Guayaquil, Ecuador
| | - Juan Jesús García-Iglesias
- Department of Sociology, Social Work and Public Health, Faculty of Labour Sciences, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain
| | - Juan Carlos Camacho-Vega
- Department of Building Construction II, Higher Technical School of Building Engineering, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
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Eick SM, Enright EA, Padula AM, Aung M, Geiger SD, Cushing L, Trowbridge J, Keil AP, Gee Baek H, Smith S, Park JS, DeMicco E, Schantz SL, Woodruff TJ, Morello-Frosch R. Prenatal PFAS and psychosocial stress exposures in relation to fetal growth in two pregnancy cohorts: Applying environmental mixture methods to chemical and non-chemical stressors. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2022; 163:107238. [PMID: 35436721 PMCID: PMC9202828 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal exposure to individual per‑ and poly‑fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and psychosocial stressors have been associated with reductions in fetal growth. Studies suggest cumulative or joint effects of chemical and non-chemical stressors on fetal growth. However, few studies have examined PFAS and non-chemical stressors together as a mixture, which better reflects real life exposure patterns. We examined joint associations between PFAS, perceived stress, and depression, and fetal growth using two approaches developed for exposure mixtures. METHODS Pregnant participants were enrolled in the Chemicals in Our Bodies cohort and Illinois Kids Development Study, which together make up the ECHO.CA.IL cohort. Seven PFAS were previously measured in 2nd trimester maternal serum samples and were natural log transformed for analyses. Perceived stress and depression were assessed using self-reported validated questionnaires, which were converted to t-scores using validated methods. Quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used to assess joint associations between PFAS, perceived stress and depression t-scores and birthweight z-scores (N = 876). RESULTS Individual PFAS, depression and perceived stress t-scores were negatively correlated with birthweight z-scores. Using quantile g-computation, a simultaneous one quartile increase in all PFAS, perceived stress and depression t-scores was associated with a slight reduction in birthweight z-scores (mean change per quartile increase = -0.09, 95% confidence interval = -0.21,0.03). BKMR similarly indicated that cumulative PFAS and stress t-scores were modestly associated with lower birthweight z-scores. Across both methods, the joint association appeared to be distributed across multiple exposures rather than due to a single exposure. CONCLUSIONS Our study is one of the first to examine the joint effects of chemical and non-chemical stressors on fetal growth using mixture methods. We found that PFAS, perceived stress, and depression in combination were modestly associated were lower birthweight z-scores, which supports prior studies indicating that chemical and non-chemical stressors are jointly associated with adverse health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie M Eick
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Elizabeth A Enright
- Department of Psychology, St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, MD, USA
| | - Amy M Padula
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Max Aung
- Division of Environmental Health, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
| | - Sarah D Geiger
- Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Lara Cushing
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jessica Trowbridge
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alexander P Keil
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Hyoung Gee Baek
- Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environmental Protection Agency, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Sabrina Smith
- Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environmental Protection Agency, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - June-Soo Park
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environmental Protection Agency, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Erin DeMicco
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Susan L Schantz
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL USA; Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Tracey J Woodruff
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Rachel Morello-Frosch
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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