Mayumi Tsuji1, Chihaya Koriyama2, Yasuhiro Ishihara3, Megumi Yamamoto4, Kiwako Yamamoto-Hanada5, Kumiko Kanatani6, Yu Ait Bamai7, Kazunari Onishi8, Ayako Senju9,10, Shunsuke Araki10, Eiji Shibata11, Seiichi Morokuma12, Masafumi Sanefuji12, Hiroshi Kitazawa5, Mayako Saito5, Masakazu Umezawa13, Atsuto Onoda14,15, Koichi Kusuhara9,10, Rie Tanaka1, Toshihiro Kawamoto1. 1. Department of Environmental Health, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2. Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences. 3. Laboratory of Molecular Brain Science, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University. 4. Department of Environment and Public Health, National Institute for Minamata Disease. 5. Medical Support Center for Japan Environment and Children's Study, National Center for Child Health and Development. 6. Department of Health Informatics, Graduate School of Medicine and Public Health, Kyoto University. 7. Department of Public Health, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sciences. 8. Center for Birth Cohort Studies, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine, University of Yamanashi. 9. Japan Environment and Children's Study, UOEH Subunit Center, University of Occupational and Environmental Health. 10. Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health. 11. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health. 12. Research Center for Environmental and Developmental Medical Sciences, Kyushu University. 13. Department of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science. 14. Division of Neonatology, Center for Maternal-Neonatal Care, Nagoya University Hospital. 15. Postdoctoral Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Metal exposures could possibly affect allergic responses in pregnant women, although no studies have yet shown a clear relationship between the two, and such exposures might also affect the development of allergic diseases in children. METHODS: We investigated the relationship between metal concentrations in whole blood and immunoglobulin E (IgE; total and specific) in 14,408 pregnant women who participated in the Japan Environment and Children's Study. The subjects submitted self-administered questionnaires, and blood samples were collected from them twice, specifically, during the first trimester and again during the second/third trimester. Concentrations of the metals Cd, Pb, Hg, Se, and Mn, as well as serum total and allergen-specific IgEs for egg white, house dust-mites (HDM), Japanese cedar pollen (JCP), animal dander, and moth, were measured. Allergen-specific IgE(s) were divided based on concentrations <0.35 or ≥0.35 UA/mL, and the metal levels were divided into quartiles. RESULTS: Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that there was a significant negative correlation between HDM- and animal dander-specific IgEs and Hg and Mn concentrations. Conversely, there was a significant positive relationship between JCP-specific IgE and Hg and Se concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Metal exposures may be related to both increases and decreases in allergen-specific IgEs in pregnant women.
BACKGROUND:Metal exposures could possibly affect allergic responses in pregnant women, although no studies have yet shown a clear relationship between the two, and such exposures might also affect the development of allergic diseases in children. METHODS: We investigated the relationship between metal concentrations in whole blood and immunoglobulin E (IgE; total and specific) in 14,408 pregnant women who participated in the Japan Environment and Children's Study. The subjects submitted self-administered questionnaires, and blood samples were collected from them twice, specifically, during the first trimester and again during the second/third trimester. Concentrations of the metals Cd, Pb, Hg, Se, and Mn, as well as serum total and allergen-specific IgEs for egg white, house dust-mites (HDM), Japanese cedar pollen (JCP), animal dander, and moth, were measured. Allergen-specific IgE(s) were divided based on concentrations <0.35 or ≥0.35 UA/mL, and the metal levels were divided into quartiles. RESULTS: Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that there was a significant negative correlation between HDM- and animal dander-specific IgEs and Hg and Mn concentrations. Conversely, there was a significant positive relationship between JCP-specific IgE and Hg and Se concentrations. CONCLUSIONS:Metal exposures may be related to both increases and decreases in allergen-specific IgEs in pregnant women.
Entities:
Keywords:
allergic sensitization; maternal health; metal concentrations; pregnant women; specific IgE