DDE and PCB serum concentration in maternal blood and their adult female offspring

Background: Dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (DDE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be passed from mother to offspring through placental transfer or breast feeding. Unknown is whether maternal levels can predict concentrations in adult offspring. Objectives: To test the association between maternal blood levels of DDE and PCBs and adult female offspring levels of these compounds using data from the Michigan Fisheaters’Cohort. Methods: DDE and PCB concentrations were determined in 132 adult daughters from 84 mothers. Prenatal exposures were estimated based on maternal DDE and PCB serum levels measured between 1973 and 1991. Levels in adult daughters were regressed on maternal and estimated prenatal exposure levels, adjusting for potential confounders using linear mixed models. Confounders included daughter’s age, birth order, birth weight, number of pregnancies, the length of time the daughter was breast-fed, the length of time the daughter breast-fed her own children, last year fish-eating status, body mass index, and lipid weight. Results: The median age of the participants was 40.4 years (range 18.4 to 65.4, 5–95 percentiles 22.5-54.6%, respectively). Controlling for confounders and intra-familial associations, DDE and PCB concentrations in adult daughters were significantly positively associated with estimated prenatal levels and with maternal concentrations. The proportion of variance in the adult daughters’ organochlorine concentrations explained by the maternal exposure levels is approximately 23% for DDE and 43% for PCBs. The equivalent of a median of 3.67 μg/L prenatal DDE and a median of 2.56 μg/L PCBs were 15.64 and 10.49 years of fish consumption, respectively. When controlling for effects of the shared environment (e.g., fish diet) by using a subsample of paternal levels measured during the same time frames (n=53 and n=37), we determined that the direct maternal transfer remains important. Conclusions: Estimated intrauterine DDE and PCB levels predicted concentrations in adult female offspring 40 years later. Interpretation of adverse health effects from intrauterine exposures of persistent pollutants may need to consider the sustained impact of maternal DDE and PCB levels found in their offspring

Improved Identification of Partial Biotinidase Deficiency by Newborn Screening Using Age-Related Enzyme Activity Cutoffs: Reduction of the False-Positive Rate

Background: Biotinidase deficiency is an inherited metabolic disorder that if untreated can result in neurological and cutaneous features. Profound biotinidase deficiency presents in early childhood with severe symptoms, whereas partial biotinidase deficiency can also present with symptoms under times of stress. Symptoms can be prevented by administering biotin. Newborn screening for the disorder is performed using dried blood spots. We examined the relationship between biotinidase activity and age at collection to determine how best to identify infants with partial biotinidase deficiency. Methods: Biotinidase activity in dried blood spots is determined using a quantitative fluorometric assay. Subsequent specimens with biotinidase activity ≤100 U were analyzed by mutation analysis to determine the range of activities expressed in infants with partial biotinidase deficiency. Results: Enzyme activity increased with age, beginning at about three days of age, and rose until plateauing at about 11 days of age. An increase of about 47.6% was observed. A total of 54 specimens had mutation analysis performed identifying 20 affected infants who would not have been identified using the original cutoff activity of 50 U. Conclusion: Biotinidase activity in infants increases with age. Age-related cutoffs assist in selectively identifying infants with partial biotinidase deficiency