Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Apr 16;47(8):3902-8.
doi: 10.1021/es3046839. Epub 2013 Apr 1.

Hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers in paired maternal and cord sera

Aimin Chen  1 , June-Soo Park, Linda Linderholm, Alexandra Rhee, Myrto Petreas, Emily A DeFranco, Kim N Dietrich, Shuk-Mei Ho
Affiliations

Hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers in paired maternal and cord sera

Aimin Chen et al. Environ Sci Technol. .

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were widely used as flame retardants in the past three decades. These compounds are lipophilic and easily cross the placenta from pregnant woman to fetus. It is not clear whether hydroxylated PBDEs (OH-PBDEs), with greater hydrophilicity, have different concentrations in maternal and cord serum samples. We analyzed PBDEs (BDE-28, -47, -99, -100, -153, -154, -209) and OH-PBDEs (6-OH-BDE-47, 5-OH-BDE-47, 4'-OH-BDE-49, 5'-OH-BDE-99) in 20 pairs of maternal and cord serum samples collected in Cincinnati, OH in 2011. The geometric mean concentration of ∑OH-BDEs (the sum of four OH-PBDEs) was 49.76 pg/mL in cord sera, higher than 32.84 pg/mL in maternal sera. Similarly, cord serum total BDEs had a higher geometric mean than maternal serum (45.51 vs 32.07 ng/g lipid). Equal or higher levels of total OH-BDEs and total BDEs in cord serum were observed in 85% and 80% of the mother-neonate pairs, respectively. The study suggests fetuses might receive higher OH-PBDE and PBDE exposure than their mothers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Total BDEs in paired maternal and cord serum samples in Cincinnati, OH 2011 (n=20, ng/g lipid)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total OH-BDEs in paired maternal and cord serum samples in Cincinnati, OH 2011 (n=20, pg/ml)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scatter plot and simple regression line of birth weight by concentrations of total BDEs and total OH-BDEs in maternal and cord serum samples, with x-axis on natural log scale. A: Birth weight by maternal total BDEs; B: Birth weight by maternal total OH-BDEs; C: Birth weight by cord total BDEs; D: Birth weight by cord total OH-BDEs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Sjodin A, Wong LY, Jones RS, Park A, Zhang Y, Hodge C, Dipietro E, McClure C, Turner W, Needham LL, Patterson DG., Jr Serum concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) in the United States population: 2003–2004. Environ Sci Technol. 2008;42(4):1377–1384. - PubMed
    1. Mazdai A, Dodder NG, Abernathy MP, Hites RA, Bigsby RM. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in maternal and fetal blood samples. Environ Health Perspect. 2003;111(9):1249–1252. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Foster WG, Gregorovich S, Morrison KM, Atkinson SA, Kubwabo C, Stewart B, Teo K. Human maternal and umbilical cord blood concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Chemosphere. 2011;84(10):1301–1309. - PubMed
    1. Frederiksen M, Thomsen C, Froshaug M, Vorkamp K, Thomsen M, Becher G, Knudsen LE. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in paired samples of maternal and umbilical cord blood plasma and associations with house dust in a Danish cohort. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2010;213(4):233–242. - PubMed
    1. Vizcaino E, Grimalt JO, Lopez-Espinosa MJ, Llop S, Rebagliato M, Ballester F. Polybromodiphenyl ethers in mothers and their newborns from a non-occupationally exposed population (Valencia, Spain) Environ Int. 2011;37(1):152–157. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances