In this study, biomonitoring of nursing Portuguese mothers to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure and assessment of potential health risks of their infants were performed through determination of 18 PAHs and 6 major metabolites (OH-PAHs) in breast milk. Concentrations of total PAHs ranged between 55.2 and 1119 ng/g fat, being naphthalene, dibenz(a,h)anthracene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, and phenanthrene the most abundant compounds (68.4% of ∑PAHs). Benzo(a)pyrene, known carcinogenic, was not detected. Total levels of OH-PAHs ranged from 6.66 to 455 ng/g fat with 1-hydroxyphenanthrene, 1-hydroxynaphthalene and 1-hydroxyacenaphthene as major compounds (96% of ∑OH-PAHs). Concentrations of ∑PAHs and ∑OH-PAHs were strongly correlated between each other (r = 0.692; p ≤ 0.001) and moderately-to-strongly associated with individual compounds (0.203 < r < 0.841; p ≤ 0.001). The attained data suggest increased levels of PAHs in older nursing mothers (>30 years) and in those whose child had lower weight (up to 3.0 kg). Breast-fed infant presented a median PAHs daily intake of 1.41 μg/kg body weight (total benzo(a)pyrene equivalents of 0.0679 μg/kg) and were exposed to 0.024 μg/kg body weight of ∑PAH4 [benz(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(j)fluoranthene, and chrysene]. Although breast milk is a secure food for newborns, un-metabolized and metabolized PAHs should be included in biomonitoring surveillance studies during breastfeeding to prevent potential health risks for infants.
Keywords: Biomarkers of exposure; Human biomonitoring; Infant exposure assessment; PAH metabolites (OH-PAHs); Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
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