Measurement of pesticides and other toxicants in amniotic fluid as a potential biomarker of prenatal exposure: a validation study
Open accessAbstract
Prenatal pesticide exposures may adversely affect children's health. However, exposure and health research is hampered by the lack of reliable fetal exposure data. No studies have been published that report measurements of commonly used nonpersistent pesticides in human amniotic fluid, although recent studies of pesticides in urine from pregnant women and in meconium indicate that fetuses are exposed to these chemicals. Amniotic fluid collected during amniocentesis is the only medium available to characterize direct fetal exposures early in pregnancy (approximately 18 weeks of gestation). As a first step in validating this exposure biomarker, we collected 100 amniotic fluid samples slated for disposal and evaluated analytical methods to measure organophosphate and carbamate pesticides and metabolites, synthetic pyrethroid metabolites, herbicides, and chlorinated phenolic compounds. The following six phenols were detected (detection frequency): 1- and 2-naphthol (70%), 2,5-dichlorophenol (55%), carbofuranphenol (5%), ortho-phenylphenol (30%), and pentachlorophenol (15%), with geometric mean concentrations of 0.72, 0.39, 0.12, 0.13, and 0.23 microg/L, respectively, for positive values. The organophosphate metabolites diethylphosphate and dimethylphosphate were detected in two (10%) samples, and dimethylthiophosphate was detected in one (5%) sample, with geometric mean concentrations of 0.31, 0.32, and 0.43 microg/L, respectively, for positive values. These levels are low compared with levels reported in urine, blood, and meconium in other studies, but indicate direct exposures to the young fetus, possibly during critical periods of development. Results of this pilot study suggest that amniotic fluid offers a unique opportunity to investigate fetal exposures and health risks.
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Pesticides can cross the placenta and blood-brain barrier.
“Pesticides can pass through the placenta and the blood–brain barrier.”
From Environmental Chemical Exposures and Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Epidemiological Evidence (2014) · cites this paper as [113]
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Environmental chemicals in pregnant women in the United States: NHANES 2003–2004
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“In humans, OPs have been detected in amnionic fluid (Bradman et al. 2003) and are known to cross the placenta (Richardson 1995; Whyatt et al. 2005), posing a threat to the unborn child during a period of rapid brain development.”
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“Pesticides can pass through the placenta and the blood–brain barrier.(113) Many pesticides act to control insects through direct impacts on the insect nervous system, with suspected analogous impacts on humans.”
- Authors
- Bradman, A., Barr, D. B., Claus Henn, B. G., Drumheller, T., Curry, C., & Eskenazi, B.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Center for Children's Environmental Health Research, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-7380, USA. abradman@socrates.berkeley.edu
- Venue
- Environmental Health Perspectives
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2003-11-01
- Volume
- 111
- Issue
- 14
- Pages
- 1779-1782
- ISSN
- 0091-6765 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-9924
- PMC
- PMC1241723
- OpenAlex
- W2025518612
- Cited by
- 258
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 11.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- public-domain
- creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (vor, 5172 d)
- Locations
- Environmental Health Perspectives (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- University of California Berkeley
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES01896, P30ES001896, P30-ES01896, P01ES009605, 5P01 ES09605-04)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Pesticide Exposure and Toxicity
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Pesticide Residue Analysis and Safety
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
- Keywords
- amniotic fluid, prenatal pesticide exposure, organophosphorus pesticides, carbamate pesticides, herbicides, chlorophenols, phenols, diethyl phosphate, dimethyl phosphate, dimethylthiophosphate, naphthols, pentachlorophenol, ortho-phenylphenol, 2,5-dichlorophenol, amniocentesis
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Amniotic Fluid, Environmental Exposure, Female, Humans, Pesticides, Phenols, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Sensitivity and Specificity, Reproducibility of Results, Biomarkers, Risk Assessment
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