Levels of selected persistent organic pollutants in blood from delivering women in seven selected areas of São Paulo State, Brazil.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) present in the living environment are thought to have detrimental health effects on the population, with pregnant women and the developing foetus being at highest risk. We report on the levels of selected POPs in maternal blood of 155 delivering women residing in seven regions within the São Paulo State, Brazil. The following selected POPs were measured in the maternal whole blood: 12 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) congeners (IUPAC Nos. 99, 101, 118, 138, 153, 156, 163, 170, 180, 183, 187, 194); dichlordiphenyltrichloroethane p,p'-DDT, diphenyldichloroethylene p,p'-DDE and other pesticides such as hexachlorocyclohexanes (α-HCH, ß-HCH, γ-HCH), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), chlordane derivatives cis-chlordane, trans-chlordane, oxy-chlordane, cis-nonachlor and trans-nonachlor. Statistical comparisons between regions were performed only on compounds having concentrations above LOD in 70% of the samples. PCB118 congener was found to be highest in the industrial site (mean 4.97 ng/g lipids); PCB138 congener concentration was highest in the Urban 3 site (mean 4.27 ng/g lipids) and congener PCB153 was highest in the industrial and Urban 3 sites with mean concentration of 7.2 ng/g lipids and 5.89ng/g lipids respectively. Large differences in levels of p,p'-DDE between regions were observed with the Urban 3 and industrial sites having the highest concentrations of 645 ng/g lipids and 417 ng/g lipids, respectively; ß-HCH was found to be highest in the Rural 1 site; the γ-HCH in Rural 1 and industrial; the HCB in the Rural 1 and industrial sites and oxy-chlordane and t-NC in the Rural 2 sites. An association between levels of some contaminants and maternal age and parity was also found.

Toxic and essential elements in blood from delivering women in selected areas of São Paulo State, Brazil.

This study was designed to evaluate the degree of environmental contamination and possible exposure of pregnant women to toxic elements in seven selected areas of São Paulo State, Brazil. The overall median concentration of Mo in maternal blood was 0.53 µg L⁻¹, highly significant differences found between sites (p < 0.0001). Cd was found to be low overall - 0.09 µg L⁻¹ (0.01-0.58 µg L⁻¹) - with mothers from the Coastal and Rural 1 sites having the highest levels (p < 0.016).Median Hg concentration was 0.60 µg L⁻¹ (0.06 µg L⁻¹-4.35 µg L⁻¹); median Pb level was 16.2 µg L⁻¹ (3.5-57.7 µg L⁻¹) and no differences between sites were observed for both metals. Median Mn level was 16.7 µg L⁻¹ (7.0-39.7 µg L⁻¹), being highest in Urban 2 site (p < 0.016). Concentrations of maternal Co were found to range between 0.06 µg L⁻¹ and 1.1 µg L⁻¹ (median 0.25 µg L⁻¹) and As level was 0.60 µg L⁻¹ (0.10-3.8 µg L⁻¹) overall, with no statistical significance between sites for Co and As. Median Se concentrations were found to be 64 µg L⁻¹ (36-233 µg L⁻¹), with the highest median levels found in Urban 3 site; site differences were statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Correlation for each element (between paired maternal and cord blood) was measured only in Rural site 1; significant correlation was shown for Hg, Pb, Mn and Co (p < 0.05). These findings may be interpreted as indicating low environmental contamination in São Paulo State, Brazil. These findings could also indicate that pregnant women have little or no contact with pollutants, possibly due to awareness campaigns carried out by public health practitioners.

Componente distólico ausente na artéria umbilical: análise de 30 casos / Absent end-diastolic velocity in umbilical artery: review of 30 cases

Foram analisados 30 casos de componente diastólico ausente na artéria umbilical fetal diagnosticados no Serviço de Ultra-Sonografia do Centro de Atençao Integral à Saúde da Mulher da UNICAMP. A época da interrupçao da gestaçao, a idade gestacional variou de 26 a 36 semanas, com peso fetal de 470 a 172Og, com grande incidência de retardo de crescimento intra-uterino (93,3 por cento). Todos os fetos necessitaram de cuidados na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva. Mortalidade perinatal total foi de 43,3 por cento.