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Canadian pregnancy cohort maps POP levels in blood

MIREC found many POPs in maternal plasma but few in cord blood; parity, age, fish, and birthplace predicted levels.

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What did the MIREC POP paper measure?

Maternal and cord plasma concentrations of PCBs, OC pesticides, PBDEs, and PFASs, plus predictors of higher exposure.

How large was the MIREC pregnancy sample?

1983 pregnant women recruited from 10 Canadian cities; mean age 32.2 years.

Which PFAS had the highest maternal geometric mean?

PFOS at 4.56 μg/L.

How did maternal PFOA compare with cord PFOA?

Maternal GM was 4 times higher (1.65 vs 0.35 μg/L).

How often were PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS found in cord plasma?

Detected in 23–64% of cord plasma samples.

Were first- and third-trimester PFASs reproducible?

Yes: highly correlated, ICCs 0.6 to 0.8, with first-trimester samples consistently higher.

How many POPs were typically detected in maternal vs cord plasma?

Median 14 (mean 15, max 33) in mothers versus mean/median 2 (max 19) in cord plasma.

How did lipid adjustment change cord:maternal ratios?

Unadjusted medians were 0.08–0.28; lipid-adjusted medians were 0.60–0.87.

What happened to POP concentrations as parity increased?

They tended to decrease for nearly all contaminants considered except PBDE 47.

Who had higher OC pesticide and PCB levels?

Foreign-born mothers (except some PBDEs/PFASs, which were higher in Canadian-born mothers) and fish consumers (except PFASs).

Did sampling year matter?

Yes: women enrolled in 2011 had significantly lower concentrations of nearly all POPs than those enrolled in 2008.

Did non-stick cookware raise all PFASs?

Only PFOA was higher among those who cooked with non-stick vessels; microwaving with non-stick showed no association.