Within the European Human Biomonitoring (HBM) Initiative HBM4EU we derived HBM indicators that were designed to help answering key policy questions and support chemical policies. The result indicators convey information on chemicals exposure of different age groups, sexes, geographical regions and time points by comparing median exposure values. If differences are observed for one group or the other, policy measures or risk management options can be implemented. Impact indicators support health risk assessment by comparing exposure values with health-based guidance values, such as human biomonitoring guidance values (HBM-GVs). In general, the indicators should be designed to translate complex scientific information into short and clear messages and make it accessible to policy makers but also to a broader audience such as stakeholders (e.g. NGO's), other scientists and the general public. Based on harmonized data from the HBM4EU Aligned Studies (2014-2021), the usefulness of our indicators was demonstrated for the age group children (6-11 years), using two case examples: one phthalate (Diisobutyl phthalate: DiBP) and one non-phthalate substitute (Di-isononyl cyclohexane-1,2- dicarboxylate: DINCH). For the comparison of age groups, these were compared to data for teenagers (12-18 years), and time periods were compared using data from the DEMOCOPHES project (2011-2012). Our result indicators proved to be suitable for demonstrating the effectiveness of policy measures for DiBP and the need of continuous monitoring for DINCH. They showed similar exposure for boys and girls, indicating that there is no need for gender focused interventions and/or no indication of sex-specific exposure patterns. They created a basis for a targeted approach by highlighting relevant geographical differences in internal exposure. An adequate data basis is essential for revealing differences for all indicators. This was particularly evident in our studies on the indicators on age differences. The impact indicator revealed that health risks based on exposure to DiBP cannot be excluded. This is an indication or flag for risk managers and policy makers that exposure to DiBP still is a relevant health issue. HBM indicators derived within HBM4EU are a valuable and important complement to existing indicator lists in the context of environment and health. Their applicability, current shortcomings and solution strategies are outlined.
- MeSH
- biologický monitoring MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- kyseliny ftalové * MeSH
- kyseliny karboxylové MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- postup MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
- O autorovi
- Černá, Milena, 1943- Autorita
OBJECTIVES: The authors aimed to evaluate whether blood cadmium (B-Cd), lead (B-Pb) and mercury (B-Hg) in children differ regionally in 9 countries, and to identify factors correlating with exposure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The authors performed a cross-sectional study of children aged 7-14 years, living in 2007-2008 in urban, rural, or potentially polluted ("hot spot") areas (ca. 50 children from each area, in total 1363 children) in 6 European and 3 non-European countries. The authors analyzed Cd, Pb, and total Hg in blood and collected information on potential determinants of exposure through questionnaires. Regional differences in exposure levels were assessed within each country. RESULTS: Children living near industrial "hot-spots" had B-Cd 1.6 (95% CI: 1.4-1.9) times higher in the Czech Republic and 2.1 (95% CI:1.6-2.8) times higher in Poland, as compared to urban children in the same countries (geometric means [GM]: 0.13 μg/l and 0.15 μg/l, respectively). Correspondingly, B-Pb in the "hot spot" areas was 1.8 (95% CI: 1.6-2.1) times higher than in urban areas in Slovakia and 2.3 (95% CI: 1.9-2.7) times higher in Poland (urban GM: 19.4 μg/l and 16.3 μg/l, respectively). In China and Morocco, rural children had significantly lower B-Pb than urban ones (urban GM: 64 μg/l and 71 μg/l, respectively), suggesting urban exposure from leaded petrol, water pipes and/or coal-burning. Hg "hot spot" areas in China had B-Hg 3.1 (95% CI: 2.7-3.5) times higher, and Ecuador 1.5 (95% CI: 1.2-1.9) times higher, as compared to urban areas (urban GM: 2.45 μg/l and 3.23 μg/l, respectively). Besides industrial exposure, traffic correlated with B-Cd; male sex, environmental tobacco smoke, and offal consumption with B-Pb; and fish consumption and amalgam fillings with B-Hg. However, these correlations could only marginally explain regional differences. CONCLUSIONS: These mainly European results indicate that some children experience about doubled exposures to toxic elements just because of where they live. These exposures are unsafe, identifiable, and preventable and therefore call for preventive actions. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2023;36(3):349-64.
Přehledový článek shrnuje výsledky českého lidského biomonitoringu za téměř tři dekády své existence. Národní biologický monitoring byl ve Státním zdravotním ústavu v Praze uveden do činnosti v roce 1994 v rámci Systému monitorování zdravotního stavu obyvatelstva České republiky ve vztahu k životnímu prostředí, aby byl posléze navázán na evropské a světové odborné aktivity v této oblasti. V jeho průběhu byla sledována celá škála organických i anorganických xenobiotik a esenciálních látek v krvi, moči a vlasech dospělé a dětské populace, v mateřském mléce kojících žen a také v dalších, méně obvyklých matricích. Výstupem jsou cenné dlouhodobé časové řady, které mj. ukazují, jakým způsobem mohou fungovat zavedená preventivní opatření v praxi a jak korespondují se snižující se expozicí populace. Na druhé straně lze jeho prostřednictvím ověřit, zda a jak rychle může dojít k expozici člověka nově používaným chemickým látkám. Správně interpretované výsledky lidského biologického monitoringu jsou důležité pro odborníky z oblasti veřejného zdraví ke stanovení referenčních hodnot, k porovnání se zdravotními limity, k hodnocení zdravotních rizik, pro účely zdravotní politiky i k mezinárodnímu srovnání. Ve vhodně zpracované podobě mohou sloužit k informovanosti a vzdělávání laické veřejnosti o zátěži lidské populace chemickými látkami z prostředí. Dlouhodobé zkušenosti z oblasti českého biologického monitoringu umožňují Státnímu zdravotnímu ústavu účast v mnoha zahraničních projektech, zaměřených na sledování expozice různých populačních skupin chemickým látkám z prostředí.
The article summarises the results of Czech Human Biomonitoring over a period of three decades. Human biomonitoring in the Czech Republic was commenced at the National Institute of Public Health, Prague, in 1994 as part of the Environmental Health Monitoring System and was later linked to European and worldwide professional activities in this area. During the course of this project the whole range of organic and inorganic xenobiotics and essential substances was monitored in the blood, urine and hair of the adult and child populations, in the breast milk of breastfeeding women and in other, less common matrices. The results have provided valuable long-term time series that show how established preventive measures can work in practice and how they correspond to decreasing population exposure. Results can also be used to verify whether or not, and how quickly, can individuals be exposed to newly used chemical substances. Results of human biological monitoring are important for public health professionals to establish reference values, to provide comparison with health limits, to assess health risks, for health policy purposes and international comparison. Appropriately processed results can serve to inform and educate the public about human population burden by chemical substances in the environment. Long-term experience in the field of human biomonitoring enables experts of the National Institute of Public Health to participate in many foreign projects focused on monitoring the exposure of various population groups to chemical substances from the environment.
- MeSH
- biologické markery krev moč MeSH
- biologický monitoring * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mateřské mléko chemie MeSH
- městské obyvatelstvo MeSH
- nebezpečné látky analýza MeSH
- vystavení vlivu životního prostředí * MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
- Publikační typ
- abstrakt z konference MeSH
BACKGROUND: There is little reliable information on human exposure to the metals platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd) and rhodium (Rh), despite their use in enormous quantities in catalytic converters for automobile exhaust systems. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate blood concentrations of Pt (B-Pt), Pd (B-Pd) and Rh (B-Rh) in women from six European and three non-European countries, and to identify potentially influential factors. In addition, molybdenum (Mo) and strontium (Sr) were analysed. METHODS: Blood from 248 women aged 47-61 was analysed by high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry under strict quality control. RESULTS: The medians were: B-Pt 0.8 (range <0.6-5.2), B-Pd <5 (<5-9.3), B-Rh <0.4 (<0.4-3.6)ng/L and B-Mo 2.0 (0.2-16) and B-Sr 16.6 (3.5-49) μg/L. Two women with highly elevated B-Pt (242 and 60ng/L), previously cancer treated with cis-platinum, were not included in the data analysis. All elements varied geographically (2-3 times) (B-Pd P=0.05; all other elements P<0.001); variations within each area were generally 5-10 times. Traffic was not associated with increased concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: General population blood concentrations of Pt, Pd and Rh are within or below the single digit ng/L range, much lower than in most previous reports. This is probably due to improved analytical performance, allowing for more reliable information at ultra-trace levels. In general, Mo and Sr agreed with previously reported concentrations. All elements showed geographical and inter-individual variations, but no convincing relationships with self-reported traffic intensity were found. Pt from the antineoplastic drug cis-platinum is retained in the body for years.
- MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- molybden krev MeSH
- monitorování životního prostředí * MeSH
- palladium krev MeSH
- platina krev MeSH
- rhodium krev MeSH
- stroncium krev MeSH
- těžké kovy krev MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- velkoměsta MeSH
- Publikační typ
- abstrakt z konference MeSH
The COPHES/DEMOCOPHES twin project was performed in 2011-2012 in 17 European countries to harmonize all steps of the human biomonitoring survey. Urinary cadmium, cotinine, phthalate metabolites, and hair mercury were measured in children (N = 120, 6-11 years) and their mothers of reproductive age, living in urban or rural areas. Cadmium in mothers' and children's urine was detected at a geometric mean (GM) concentration 0.227 and 0.109 μg/L, respectively; 95th percentile (P95) was 0.655 and 0.280 μg/L in mothers and children, respectively. No age-related, education-related, or urban versus rural differences were observed within the frame of each population group. Cadmium urinary level in mothers was about twofold compared with children. Higher levels were obtained in all smoking mothers but not in occasionally smoking or mothers and children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Mercury values in mothers were significantly higher in urban than in rural populations but not in children. GM and P95 for mercury in children's hair were 0.098 and 0.439 μg/g and in mothers' hair were 0.155 and 0.570 μg/g. Concentrations for mercury in the Czech samples were lower than European average. Hair mercury increased significantly with consumption of fish or seafood and with number of amalgam tooth fillings (in children). A positive association was found with family educational level. No influence of age was observed. Urinary cadmium and hair mercury levels were lower than health-based guidelines with one exception. High levels of urinary cotinine were found in the 12 smoking mothers (GM approximately 500 μg/L); lower levels in occasionally smoking mothers, N = 11 (34.5 μg/L). The mean cotinine levels in nonsmoking mothers who reported daily exposure to ETS was 10.7 μg/L. A similar mean value (10.8 μg/L) was obtained in six children who had daily exposure to ETS. In children without exposure to ETS, the mean cotinine level was 1.39 μg/L urine. Cotinine in the urine of children demonstrates limited protection of the Czech children against exposure to ETS.
- MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- kadmium analýza moč MeSH
- kotinin analýza moč MeSH
- látky znečišťující životní prostředí analýza moč MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- matka - expozice noxám statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- matky MeSH
- vlasy, chlupy chemie MeSH
- vystavení vlivu životního prostředí statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
The serum samples from the years 1970-1990 archived at the temperature of -20°C in the biobank primarily intended for serological survey performed in the CR since 1960 were pooled and analyzed for DDT, its metabolites, HCB, HCHs, and indicator PCB congeners using up-to-date GC/MS/MS methods to retrospectively assess health risks according to current health guidelines. Samples were pooled based on the decade of sampling, age, gender, and three geographical areas; in adults, one pooled samples consisted of ten and in children of twenty individual samples. Altogether 233 pooled samples were analyzed. For all organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), significant downward trends were observed in the period 1970-1990 (p<0.001). The levels of HCB exceeded the Biomonitoring Equivalent (BE) value. The hazard quotient (HQ) in Prague and Ostrava during the 1970s and 1980s was about 40 and in the 1990s it had dropped to about five. In Uherské Hradiště, the HQ in 1975 was one order of magnitude higher (about 170), and had decreased to approximately 12 by 1987. For both HCB and the DDT sum, the BE-related carcinogenic risk of actual concentrations in the past exceeded significantly the individually accepted cancer risk level of 10(-4). The levels of the main PCB congeners in the 1970s through 1990s revealed an upward time trend in all analyzed strata. The highest concentrations were found in the serum of residents from the hot-spot area Uherské Hradiště. Critical PCB sum concentration levels (700ng/g lipid for vulnerable population groups and 1800ng/g lipid for other population groups) were substantially exceeded with an increasing time trend. PCB sum had exceeded HBM II values of 7μg/L of serum since 1980 in all age strata. In conclusion, the body burden of the Czech general population relative to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the period 1970 through 1990 significantly exceeded currently existing health based limit values. The past exposure might adversely affect the health status of the Czech population.
- MeSH
- chlorované uhlovodíky krev MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- hodnocení rizik MeSH
- kojenec MeSH
- látky znečišťující životní prostředí krev MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- mladý dospělý MeSH
- monitorování životního prostředí statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- novorozenec MeSH
- pesticidy krev MeSH
- předškolní dítě MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- kojenec MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- mladý dospělý MeSH
- novorozenec MeSH
- předškolní dítě MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
OBJECTIVE: Phthalates and their metabolites are classified as endocrine modulators. They affect the hormonal balance in both children and adults. The aim of this publication was to compare the urinary levels of phthalate metabolites in selected populations of the Czech Republic (CZ), Slovakia (SK), and Hungary (HU) in relation to the sources of phthalate exposure identified by means of questionnaire (personal care products, floor and wall coverings, plastic toys, and some kinds of foods). METHODS: Data were obtained through the twin projects COPHES (COnsortium to Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale) and DEMOCOPHES (DEMOnstration of a study to COordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale) from 2009 to 2012. The target groups were children aged 6-11 years old and their mothers up to 45 years of age. The metabolites of phthalates (monomethyl phthalate (MMP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP), monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono-cyclohexyl phthalate (MCHP), mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (5OH-MEHP), and mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (5OXO-MEHP)) were analysed in first morning urine samples. After enzymatic glucuronide cleavage, the urine sample analyses were performed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS) in one laboratory that qualified in the External Quality Assessment exercises organised by COPHES. RESULTS: Significant differences in phthalate exposure between countries were revealed for children only but not for mothers. The concentrations of 5-OH-MEHP (P<0.001), 5OXO-MEHP (P<0.001), and their sum (P<0.001) were the highest in SK compared to CZ and HU. The health based guidance values for the sum of DEHP metabolites 5-OH MEHP and 5OXO-MEHP established by the German Commission for biomonitoring of 300 µg/L and 500 µg/L for women adults and children, respectively, were only exceeded in one mother and three boys. A significant difference was also found for MEP (P=0.0149), with the highest concentrations detected in HU. In all countries, the increasing frequency of using personal care products significantly elevated the concentrations of MEP. CONCLUSION: Some differences were observed between countries in the concentrations of individual urinary phthalate metabolites in children. However, the questionnaire results give no direct explanation for the differences between the countries except the variation in using personal care products.
- MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- hmotnostní spektrometrie s elektrosprejovou ionizací MeSH
- interpretace statistických dat MeSH
- kouření epidemiologie MeSH
- kyseliny ftalové metabolismus moč MeSH
- látky znečišťující životní prostředí metabolismus moč MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- monitorování životního prostředí metody statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- pilotní projekty MeSH
- průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
- tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie MeSH
- vysokoúčinná kapalinová chromatografie MeSH
- vystavení vlivu životního prostředí analýza statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
- Maďarsko MeSH
- Slovenská republika MeSH
