Dioxins and vitamin k status of the newborn

Abstract

The effect of exposure to chlorinated dioxins and dibenzofurans on the vitamin K status of the human newborn was investigated in 32 mother‐infant pairs. Pre‐ and postnatal exposure to these xenobiotics was estimated by the concentrations of these compounds in the fat of the breast‐milk three weeks after delivery. Vitamin K₁ and PIVKA‐II levels were measured in cord blood and in the infants at eleven weeks. Vitamin K₁ concentrations in cord blood were below the detection limit (40 pg/mL) in all samples measured. PIVKA‐II could be detected in nine of the 28 available cord blood samples, but no correlation was found with total dioxin concentrations (expressed in toxic equivalents) in the breast‐milk. Neither was there a significant correlation with the separate congeners. From the eleven‐week‐old infants nine blood samples were available. No significant correlation could be found between total dioxin concentrations and vitamin K₁ or PIVKA‐II levels. However, there was a significant inverse correlation (P < 0.05) between the congeners 1,2,3,7,8‐PeCDD and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8‐HpCDF, and vitamin K₁ levels. A highly significant inverse correlation (P < 0.001) was found between the congener 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzofuran (2,3,7,8‐TCDF) and vitamin K₁ levels at this age. These results indicate that dioxins, and especially 2,3,7,8‐TCDF, may play a role in vitamin K₁ deficiency in the newborn.

Notes

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