Organochlorinated compounds in the serum of primiparous mothers from an urban area of central italy

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the concentration of selected Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (four congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE)) in serum samples from a group of 60 post-partum primiparous women from Rome, central Italy. Participants were interviewed to collect information on biological, environmental and nutritional factors which may influence their exposure to POPs. Instrumental analysis was carried out by ion trap (IT) mass spectrometry coupled to high resolution gas chromatography used in the MS-MS mode. Multivariate analysis showed that the concentrations of all PCB congeners and of HCB significantly increased with age. The consumption of higher quantities of raw vegetables and eggs was positively correlated with the serum concentrations of ΣPCBs (sum of PCB congeners 118, 138, 153 and 180). Cooked vegetables consumption correlated significantly with levels of HCB.