TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental chemicals in human milk
T2 - A review of levels, infant exposures and health, and guidance for future research
AU - LaKind, Judy S.
AU - Amina Wilkins, A.
AU - Berlin, Cheston M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Workshop support was provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency; the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration; the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health; the Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel of the American Chemistry Council; the Nurses Leadership Council; Penn State University College of Medicine; the Public Health Policy Advisory Board; and the Research Foundation for Health and Environmental Effects. An Expert Panel (representing academia, industry, nonprofit organizations, and the federal government) drawn from the fields of pediatrics, family medicine, nursing, lactation, human milk sampling, analytical chemistry, epidemiology, pharmacology, toxicology, nutrition, and risk evaluation and communication participated in the Workshop, held at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine (15–17 February 2002). The Panel was charged with describing the components of well-conducted human milk surveillance and research studies, including the following topics (LaKind and Berlin, 2002) : guidelines for participant selection, guidelines for human milk sampling, questionnaire development guidelines, guidelines for chemical selection, analytical guidelines, and guidelines for uses and interpretation of information on environmental chemicals in human milk. The results of the deliberations of the Panel have been published ( Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health , vol. 65, no. 22) and are summarized briefly in the following sections. For more detailed information on each of these topics, the reader is referred to the original citations.
PY - 2004/7/15
Y1 - 2004/7/15
N2 - The aim of this review is to introduce the reader to various science and policy aspects of the topic of environmental chemicals in human milk. Although information on environmental chemicals in human milk has been available since the 1950s, it is only relatively recently that public awareness of the issue has grown. This review on environmental chemicals in human milk provides a resource summarizing what is currently known about levels and trends of environmental chemicals in human milk, potential infant exposures, and benefits of breast-feeding relative to the risks of exposures to environmental chemicals. The term "environmental chemicals," as it pertains to human milk, refers to many classes of exogenous chemicals that may be detected in human milk. For example, pharmaceutical agents and alcohol are environmental chemicals that have been found in human milk. Other chemicals, such as heavy metals and volatile organic compounds, have also been detected in human milk. Most research on environmental chemicals in human milk has concentrated on persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals. In this review, a description of human milk is provided, including a brief review of endogenous substances in human milk. Determinants of levels of PBTs are discussed, as are models that have been developed to predict levels of PBTs in human milk and associated body burdens in breast-feeding infants. Methodologies for human milk sampling and analysis, and concepts for consideration in interpretation and communication of study results, as developed by the Technical Workshop on Human Milk Surveillance and Research for Environmental Chemicals in the United States are described. Studies which have compared the health risks and benefits associated with breast-feeding and formula-feeding are discussed.
AB - The aim of this review is to introduce the reader to various science and policy aspects of the topic of environmental chemicals in human milk. Although information on environmental chemicals in human milk has been available since the 1950s, it is only relatively recently that public awareness of the issue has grown. This review on environmental chemicals in human milk provides a resource summarizing what is currently known about levels and trends of environmental chemicals in human milk, potential infant exposures, and benefits of breast-feeding relative to the risks of exposures to environmental chemicals. The term "environmental chemicals," as it pertains to human milk, refers to many classes of exogenous chemicals that may be detected in human milk. For example, pharmaceutical agents and alcohol are environmental chemicals that have been found in human milk. Other chemicals, such as heavy metals and volatile organic compounds, have also been detected in human milk. Most research on environmental chemicals in human milk has concentrated on persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals. In this review, a description of human milk is provided, including a brief review of endogenous substances in human milk. Determinants of levels of PBTs are discussed, as are models that have been developed to predict levels of PBTs in human milk and associated body burdens in breast-feeding infants. Methodologies for human milk sampling and analysis, and concepts for consideration in interpretation and communication of study results, as developed by the Technical Workshop on Human Milk Surveillance and Research for Environmental Chemicals in the United States are described. Studies which have compared the health risks and benefits associated with breast-feeding and formula-feeding are discussed.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.taap.2003.08.021
DO - 10.1016/j.taap.2003.08.021
M3 - Review article
C2 - 15236953
AN - SCOPUS:3242659295
SN - 0041-008X
VL - 198
SP - 184
EP - 208
JO - Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
JF - Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
IS - 2
ER -
