Monitoring of urinary arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) among a sample of pregnant Iranian women

Abstract

Purpose Heavy metals, as significant toxic environmental contaminants, can cause serious adverse health outcomes on the human body even in trace concentrations. There is limited evidence on heavy metal concentrations existing in the body fluids of pregnant women. This study aims to evaluate the urinary levels of arsenic (As) and lead (Pb), as two main toxic heavy metals, among pregnant women and their lifestyle determinants. Methods The study was performed in 2019-2020 in Isfahan, Iran. A number of 140 urine samples of pregnant women who were in their first pregnancy trimester were examined. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was applied to analyze the urinary concentrations of As and Pb. Socio-demographic data including age, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), education status, and family income, as well as the use of cleaning products (cosmetic and household cleaning products), and lifestyle habits (food intake, smoking, and physical activity) were collected using a validated questionnaire. Results The mean concentration of As and Pb were 8.14 +/- 10.8 and 9.6 +/- 7.1 mu g/g creatinine, respectively. The mean urinary concentration of Pb indicated significant differences in the levels of cosmetic usage, second-hand smoking exposure, and the use of Copper, Aluminum, Teflon, Steel, and Enameled utensils for cooking (p-value < 0.05). Furthermore, the mean of urinary Pb concentrations at high levels of physical activity and scratched utensils using was significantly different from the other categories (p-value = 0.02). No significant differences were found between As and Pb concentration with other socio-demographic factors. Conclusion The lifestyle determinants and cosmetic products use are important predictors of urinary heavy metals in pregnant women, rather than sociodemographic characteristics. Additional research is necessary to determine long-term adverse birth outcomes of exposure to these heavy metals.