B
ackground
:
Bulky DNA adducts reflect genotoxic exposures, have been associated with lower
birth weight, and may predict cancer risk.
o
Bjective
:
We selected factors known or hypothesized to affect
in
utero
adduct formation and
repair and examined their associations with adduct levels in neonates.
M
ethods
:
Pregnant women from Greece, Spain, England, Denmark, and Norway were recruited
in 2006–2010. Cord blood bulky DNA adduct levels were measured by the
32
P-postlabeling
technique (
n
=
511). Diet and
maternal characteristics were assessed via questionnaires. Modeled
exposures to air pollutants and drinking-water disinfection by-products, mainly trihalomethanes
(THMs), were available for a large proportion of the study population.
r
esults
:
Greek and Spanish neonates had higher adduct levels than the northern European
neonates [median, 12.1 (
n
=
179) vs. 6.8 (
n
=
332) adducts per 108 nucleotides,
p
<
0.001].
Residence in southern European countries, higher maternal body mass index, delivery by cesarean
section, male infant sex, low maternal intake of fruits rich in vitamin
C, high intake of dairy
products, and low adherence to healthy diet score were statistically significantly associated with
higher adduct levels in adjusted models. Exposure to fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide
was associated with significantly higher adducts in the Danish subsample only. Overall, the pooled
results for THMs in water show no evidence of association with adduct levels; however, there are
country-specific differences in results with a suggestion of an association in England.
c
onclusion
:
These findings suggest that a combination of factors, including unknown country-
specific factors, influence the bulky DNA adduct levels in neonates.
c
itation
:
Pedersen M, Mendez MA, Schoket B, Godschalk RW, Espinosa A, Landström
A,
Villanueva
CM, Merlo
DF, Fthenou E, Gracia-Lavedan E, van Schooten FJ, Hoek G, Brunborg
G,
Meltzer
HM, Alexander J, Nielsen JK, Sunyer J, Wright J, Kovács K, de Hoogh K, Gutzkow
KB,
Hardie
LJ, Chatzi L, Knudsen LE, Anna L, Ketzel M, Haugen M, Botsivali M, Nieuwenhuijsen
MJ,
Cirach
M, Toledano
MB, Smith RB, Fleming S, Agramunt S, Kyrtopoulos SA, Lukács
V,
Kleinjans
JC, Segerbäck D,
Kogevinas M. 2015. Environmental, dietary, maternal, and fetal predic-
tors of bulky DNA adducts in cord blood: a European mother–child study