The Argentinian mother-and-child contaminant study: a cross-sectional study among delivering women in the cities of Ushuaia and Salta.

The Argentinian mother-and-child contaminant study: a cross-sectional study among delivering women in the cities of Ushuaia and Salta. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2017;76(1):1364598 Authors: Økland I, Odland JØ, Matiocevich S, Alvarez MV, Aarsland T, Nieboer E, Hansen S Abstract Several ongoing international multidisciplinary projects have examined linkages between environmental chemicals and health. In contrast to Arctic regions, information for the Southern Hemisphere is scarce. Because of the inherent practice of pesticide utilisation and mismanagement, food security is potentially threatened. The most vulnerable period in human life occurs during pregnancy and early childhood, thus a focus on the body burdens of PTS in pregnant or delivering women is warranted. The current study was designed to investigate health risks related to exposure to PTS and food security in two regions of Argentina (Ushuaia and Salta). Our aims were to quantify concentrations of organic and inorganic toxins in serum or whole blood of delivering women and to collect pertinent dietary and medical information. The overall study design, the basic demographic features and essential clinical chemistry findings are described in the current paper. The socioeconomic differences between the two study areas were evident. On average, the women in Ushuaia were 4 years older than those in Salta (28.8 vs. 24.7 years). Respectively, the proportion of current smokers wa...
Source: International Journal of Circumpolar Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Int J Circumpolar Health Source Type: research