| Abstract |
The aim of this study was the qualitative and quantitative determination of parabens (PBs) and triclosan (TCS) levels, which are characterized as endocrine disruptors, in head hair and amniotic fluid samples of pregnant women during amniocentesis in the 1st or 2nd trimester of their pregnancy. Also, the exposure and the burden of pregnant women and their infants were recorded. The sampling took place during the 2016-2017 period in the maternity hospital “Mitera” in Heraklion, Crete and the majority of the participating women were residents of Heraklion’s region.
In total, 95 samples of head hair and 99 samples of amniotic fluid were collected. The participants completed questionnaires related to their somatometric and demographic characteristics, their dietary habits, the use of personal care products and their medical and obstetrical history. Additionally, 5-12 months after the childbirth, the participants answered a supplementary questionnaire related to the somatometric characteristics and possible health problems of their infants.
Sample processing was performed by liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate for the amniotic fluid samples and by solid–liquid extraction with methanol for the hair samples. The analysis was held using a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry system (LC-MS).
The validation of the used method was performed by determining the linearity (R2), recovery (%), accuracy (%), inter day precision (%) and sensitivity (limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ)). The % accuracy of the amniotic fluid analysis method was 96.17% for MePB, 95.86% for EtPB, 96.65% for BePB, 94.27% for BuPB and 96.17% for TCS. The recovery was 99.30%, 83.36%, 113.41%, 90.74% and 69.95% while the inter day precision (RSD) was 15.23%, 12.25%, 9,99%, 14.27% and 18.77%, respectively. For hair samples, the precision was 94.0% for MePB, 103.8% for EtPB, 98.9% for BePB, 136.2% for BuPB and 91.4% for TCS. The corresponding values for the recovery were 112.08%, 110.69%, 104.68%, 81.62% and 97.48%, while for the inter day precision (RSD) were 21.15%, 10.32%, 23.19%, 21.43% and 15.89%. For the amniotic fluid samples, the LOD and LOQ were calculated 0.07 and 0.23 ng/ml for MePB, 0.31 and 1.02 ng/ml for EtPB, 0.17 and 0.57 ng/ml for BePB, 0.12 and 0.40 ng/ml for BuPB and 0.73 and 2.45 ng/ml for TCS, respectively. For the hair samples, the corresponding values were 3.62 and 12.08 pg/mg for MePB, 0.54 and1.81 pg/mg for EtPB, 0.88 and 2.93 pg/mg for BePB, 0.28 and 0.94 pg/mg for BuPB and 1.28 and 4.27 pg/mg for TCS. The square of the correlation coefficient was R2> 0.99 for both amniotic fluid and hair samples. The linearity and the other analytical parameters indicate the suitability of the methods that were used for the analysis of the samples.
Hair samples showed a higher percentage of positive samples for all compounds (90-100% except from BePB (15.8%)). In amniotic fluid samples, MePB was the most detected (21.2%), while the
percentage of positive samples for the other compounds did not exceed 5.1%. The mean concentration levels of amniotic fluid samples was 6.6 ng/ml for MePB (0.1 – 18.8 ng/ml); 9.2 ng/ml (1.3 – 17.1 ng/ml) for EtPB; 0.6 ng/ml for BePB (only one positive sample); 0.4 ng/ml (0.2 – 0.6 ng/ml) for BuPB and 1.8 ng/ml (0.9 – 2.4 ng/ml) for TCS. For the hair samples the mean concentration levels were 4501.2 pg/mg (17.6 – 27437.0 pg/mg) for MePB; 510.1 pg/mg (11.0 – 4224.5 pg/mg) for EtPB; 22.9 pg/mg (2.1 – 66.6 pg/mg) for BePB; 237.1 pg/mg (1.8 – 2513.7 pg/mg) for BuPB and 245.0 pg/mg (8.8 – 8070.2 pg/mg) for TCS.
The concentration levels of the amniotic fluid samples were much lower than the respective levels in urine and in agreement with the reported levels in the literature. The statistical analysis of both results and questionnaires’ data showed that the frequent use of personal care and hygiene products, such as makeup, hairspray and sunscreens, is correlated with higher concentration levels of PBs in hair and amniotic fluid of the pregnant women. Additionally, positive correlation was observed between the BePB levels in hair and the infants’ height. Finally, TCS levels were correlated with the presence or not of health problems in infants, such as allergies and respiratory problems.
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