Urinary Aflatoxin M1 Concentration and Its Determinants in School-Age Children in Southern Ethiopia

Tafere Gebreegziabher; Melanie Dean; Elilta Elias; Workneh Tsegaye; Barbara J Stoecker

doi:10.3390/nu14132580

Urinary Aflatoxin M1 Concentration and Its Determinants in School-Age Children in Southern Ethiopia

Nutrients. 2022 Jun 22;14(13):2580. doi: 10.3390/nu14132580.

Authors

Tafere Gebreegziabher¹, Melanie Dean¹, Elilta Elias², Workneh Tsegaye³, Barbara J Stoecker³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Sciences, Central Washington University, 400 E University Way, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA.
² School of Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, Hawassa University, Hawassa P.O. Box 5, Ethiopia.
³ Department of Nutritional Sciences, Oklahoma State University, 421 Human Sciences, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.

Abstract

Aflatoxins are mycotoxins that can contaminate grains, legumes, and oil seeds. These toxic compounds are an especially serious problem in tropical and sub-tropical climates. The objective of this study was to raise awareness of aflatoxin exposure among primary school children in Shebedino woreda, southern Ethiopia, by measuring urinary aflatoxin M1 (AFM1). The study employed a cross-sectional design and systematic random sampling of children from eight schools in the district. The mean ± SD age of the children was 9.0 ± 1.8 years. Most (84.6%) households were food insecure with 17.9% severely food insecure. Urinary AFM1 was detected in more than 93% of the children. The median [IQR] concentration of AFM1/Creat was 480 [203, 1085] pg/mg. Based on a multiple regression analysis: DDS, consumption of haricot bean or milk, source of drinking water, maternal education, and household food insecurity access scale scores were significantly associated with urinary AFM1/Creat. In conclusion, a high prevalence of urinary AFM1 was observed in this study. However, the relation between AFM1 and dietary intake was analyzed based on self-reported dietary data; hence, all of the staple foods as well as animal feeds in the study area should be assessed for aflatoxin contamination.

Keywords: aflatoxin; school age children; southern Ethiopia.

MeSH terms

Aflatoxin M1*
Aflatoxins*
Animals
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Ethiopia / epidemiology
Food Contamination / analysis
Humans
Milk / chemistry

Substances

Aflatoxins
Aflatoxin M1

Grants and funding

The research was funded by Hawassa University, Ethiopia and Marilynn Thoma Chair in Human Sciences at Oklahoma State University. The funders had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data or in writing the manuscript.