Deoxynivalenol exposure assessment in a cohort of pregnant women from Bradford, UK

Abstract

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a ubiquitous contaminant of cereal crops in temperate regions of the world. It causes growth faltering and immune suppression in animals. Limited information is available on DON exposure in UK subpopulations. The objective of this study was to provide DON exposure assessment in a subset of pregnant women scheduled for an elective caesarean in a large multi-ethnic mother/infant birth cohort from Bradford, UK. Women aged 16–44 years (n = 85) provided a urine sample for DON analysis in the last trimester of pregnancy, and concurrently completed a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The urinary DON biomarker was detected in all measured samples (geometric mean (GM) = 10.3 ng DON mg⁻¹ creatinine, range = 0.5−116.7 ng mg⁻¹). Levels were higher in women classified as South Asian in origin (GM: 15.2 ng mg⁻¹; 95% CI = 10.7−21.5 ng mg⁻¹) compared with non-South Asians (GM = 8.6 ng mg⁻¹; 95% CI = 6.6−11.8 ng mg⁻¹), p = 0.02). Estimated DON intake from FFQ data and typical levels of DON contamination of food suggest that this was mainly due to higher levels of exposure from bread, particularly daily intake of DON from chapattis in South Asians (estimated mean = 2.4 µg day⁻¹; 95% CI = 1.2, 3.7 µg day⁻¹) compared with non-South Asians (estimated mean = 0.2 µg day⁻¹; 95% CI = 0−0.4 µg day⁻¹), p < 0.001. This is the first biomarker demonstration of DON exposure in pregnant women, and several urinary DON levels were the highest ever recorded in any study. A larger survey within this birth cohort is warranted to investigate any potential risk to mothers and their babies, from DON exposure during pregnancy.

Keywords:

• exposure assessment
• LC/MS
• mycotoxins
• trichothecenes
• cereals

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all the families who took part in this study, to the midwives for their help in recruiting them, the paediatricians and health visitors, and to the Born in Bradford team which included interviewers, data managers, laboratory staff, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers and managers. The authors also thank Susan Shires for technical assistance in this analysis. This work was co-financed by the European Union Integrated Project NewGeneris, 6th Framework Programme, Priority 5: Food Quality and Safety (Contract No. FOOD-CT-2005-016320). NewGeneris is the acronym of the project ‘Newborns and Genotoxic Exposure Risks’ (http://www.newgeneris.org). CPW was supported by NIEHS, USA (Grant No. ES06052).