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Associations of gestational and early-life exposure to toxic metals and fluoride with a diagnosis of food allergy or atopic eczema at 1 year of age
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Food and Nutrition Science, Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Food and Nutrition Science, Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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2023 (English)In: Environment International, ISSN 0160-4120, E-ISSN 1873-6750, Vol. 178, article id 108071Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Studies have indicated that early-life exposure to toxic metals and fluoride affects the immune system, but evidence regarding their role in allergic disease development is scarce. We aimed to evaluate the relations of exposure to such compounds in 482 pregnant women and their infants (4 months of age) with food allergy and atopic eczema diagnosed by a paediatric allergologist at 1 year of age within the Swedish birth-cohort NICE (Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment). Urinary cadmium and erythrocyte cadmium, lead, and mercury concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), urinary inorganic arsenic metabolites by ICP-MS after separation by ion exchange chromatography, and urinary fluoride by an ion-selective electrode. The prevalence of food allergy and atopic eczema was 8 and 7%, respectively. Gestational urinary cadmium, reflecting chronic exposure, was associated with increased odds of infant food allergy (OR [95% CI]: 1.34 [1.09, 1.66] per IQR [0.08 μg/L]). Both gestational and infant urinary fluoride were associated, albeit at a statistically non-significant level, with increased atopic eczema odds (1.48 [0.98, 2.25], 1.36 [0.95, 1.95], per doubling, respectively). By contrast, gestational and infant erythrocyte lead was associated with decreased odds of atopic eczema (0.48 [0.26, 0.87] per IQR [6.6 μg/kg] and 0.38 [0.16, 0.91] per IQR [5.94 μg/kg], respectively), and infant lead with decreased odds of food allergy (0.39 [0.16, 0.93] per IQR [5.94 μg/kg]). Multivariable adjustment had marginal impact on the estimates above. After additional adjustment for fish intake biomarkers, the methylmercury associated atopic-eczema odds were considerably increased (1.29 [0.80, 2.06] per IQR [1.36 μg/kg]). In conclusion, our results indicate that gestational cadmium exposure might be associated with food allergy at 1 year of age and, possibly, early-life exposure to fluoride with atopic eczema. Further prospective and mechanistic studies are needed to establish causality.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2023. Vol. 178, article id 108071
Keywords [en]
Atopic eczema, Cadmium, Fluoride, Food allergy, Lead, Mercury
National Category
Occupational Health and Environmental Health
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-212397DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108071ISI: 001040674900001PubMedID: 37422976Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85165213539OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-212397DiVA, id: diva2:1784771
Funder
Region Västra Götaland, RUN 612- 0618-15Swedish Research Council Formas, 2018-02275Swedish Research Council Formas, 2019-00909Karolinska InstituteSwedish Research Council, 2017-01172Swedish Research Council, 2019-01317Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2014-0923Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2018-00485Available from: 2023-07-31 Created: 2023-07-31 Last updated: 2025-04-24Bibliographically approved

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Sandin, Anna

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