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Review
. 2022 Jun 9:13:890307.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.890307. eCollection 2022.

Effects of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Maternal Body on Infants

Shi-Yu Qi  1 , Xue-Ling Xu  1 , Wen-Zhi Ma  2 , Shou-Long Deng  3 , Zheng-Xing Lian  1 , Kun Yu  1
Affiliations
Review

Effects of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Maternal Body on Infants

Shi-Yu Qi et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

There are many organochlorine pollutants in the environment, which can be directly or indirectly exposed to by mothers, and as estrogen endocrine disruptors can cause damage to the lactation capacity of the mammary gland. In addition, because breast milk contains a lot of nutrients, it is the most important food source for new-born babies. If mothers are exposed to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), the lipophilic organochlorine contaminants can accumulate in breast milk fat and be passed to the infant through breast milk. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate organochlorine contaminants in human milk to estimate the health risks of these contaminants to breastfed infants. In addition, toxic substances in the mother can also be passed to the fetus through the placenta, which is also something we need to pay attention to. This article introduces several types of OCPs, such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), methoxychlor (MXC), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), endosulfan, chlordane, heptachlorand and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), mainly expounds their effects on women's lactation ability and infant health, and provides reference for maternal and infant health. In addition, some measures and methods for the control of organochlorine pollutants are also described here.

Keywords: breast milk; estrogen endocrine disruptors; infant; lactation; organochlorine pesticides.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mothers before and after pregnancy can be directly or indirectly exposed to OCPs, which are passed to the fetus/infants through the placenta/breast milk, causing damage to the growth and development of the babies. OCPs, organochlorine pesticides.
Figure 2
Figure 2
OCPs can act as estrogen endocrine disruptors and impair lactation. OCPs, organochlorine pesticides; ERα, estrogen receptors α; ERβ, estrogen receptors β; GPER, G-protein coupled estrogen receptor; AhR, aryl hydrocarbon receptor; GnRhR, Gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor; GnRh, Gonadotropin-releasing hormone; PRL, Prolactin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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