Placental arsenic and cadmium in relation to lipid peroxides and glutathione levels in maternal-infant pairs from a copper smelter area

Arsenic exposure may enhance oxidative damage causing adverse health effects in pregnant women. The purposes of this paper are: (i) to evaluate placental arsenic concentration as a biomarker of arsenic exposure for pregnant women; and (ii) to examine the relationship between metal exposure from a copper smelter area in Bulgaria and oxidative damage during pregnancy (as measured by glutathione and lipid peroxides) in 49 maternal-infant pairs. Placental levels of arsenic were highest in areas with the highest environmental contamination, and environmental variables (residency, smoking and occupational exposure) explained a large portion of the observed variability in placental arsenic levels (linear regression R²=0.71). The combined exposures of smoking and living in the smelter area were associated with lower glutathione antioxidant protection. The per cent maternal and cord blood glutathione in reduced form was significantly lower for smokers compared to non-smokers in the smelter area (47 versus 66 per cent in maternal blood, P<0.01, and 60 versus 75 per cent in cord blood, P<0.05). Higher concentrations of lipid peroxides in maternal blood, cord blood and placenta, though not statistically significant, suggested that pregnant women with both exposures may be at higher risk of oxidative damage.