The maternal diet during pregnancy affects neonatal health status. The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional quality of the maternal diet, and its contamination by persistent organic pollutants (POPs), in pregnant women living in two areas of the Czech Republic with different levels of air pollution, and subsequently to assess the relationship of these two factors with birth weight and neonatal oxidative stress. To determine the level of oxidative stress, 8-isoprostane concentrations in umbilical cord plasma were measured. The overall nutritional quality of the maternal diet was not optimal. Of the nutritional factors, protein intake proved to be the most significant showing a positive relationship with birth weight, and a negative relationship with the oxidative stress of newborns. Dietary contamination by persistent organic pollutants was low and showed no statistically significant relationship with birth weight. Only one of the 67 analyzed POPs, namely the insecticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), showed a statistically significant positive relationship with the level of neonatal oxidative stress.

Department of Food Analysis and Nutrition Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology University of Chemistry and Technology Technicka 3 166 28 Prague Czech Republic

Department of Medical Genetics L Pasteur University Hospital Trieda SNP 1 040 11 Kosice Slovakia

Institute of Experimental Medicine AS CR Department of Genetic Toxicology and Epigenetics Videnska 1083 142 20 Prague Czech Republic

Institute of Experimental Medicine AS CR Department of Nanotoxicology and Molecular Epidemiology Videnska 1083 142 20 Prague Czech Republic

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Associations of environmental pollution with pro-oxidant, antioxidant and inflammatory markers in pregnant mothers and newborns