Dietary Acrylamide Intake during Pregnancy and Fetal Growth—Results from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa)

Background: Acrylamide has shown developmental and reproductive toxicity in animals, as well as neurotoxic effects in humans with occupational exposures. Because it is widespread in food and can pass through the human placenta, concerns have been raised about potential developmental effects of dietary exposures in humans. Objectives: We assessed associations of prenatal exposure to dietary acrylamide with small for gestational age (SGA) and birth weight. Methods: This study included 50,651 women in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Acrylamide exposure assessment was based on intake estimates obtained from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), which were compared with hemoglobin (Hb) adduct measurements reflecting acrylamide exposure in a subset of samples (n = 79). Data on infant birth weight and gestational age were obtained from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Multivariable regression was used to estimate associations between prenatal acrylamide and birth outcomes. Results: Acrylamide intake during pregnancy was negatively associated with fetal growth. When women in the highest quartile of acrylamide intake were compared with women in the lowest quartile, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for SGA was 1.11 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.21) and the coefficient for birth weight was –25.7 g (95% CI: –35.9, –15.4). Results were similar after excluding mothers who smoked during pregnancy. Maternal acrylamide– and glycidamide–Hb adduct levels were correlated with estimated dietary acrylamide intakes (Spearman correlations = 0.24; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.44; and 0.48; 95% CI: 0.29, 0.63, respectively). Conclusions: Lowering dietary acrylamide intake during pregnancy may improve fetal growth.

[1]  M. Kogevinas,et al.  NewGeneris: A European Study on Maternal Diet during Pregnancy and Child Health , 2009, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

[2]  J. Angerer,et al.  Trans-placental exposure of neonates to acrylamide—a pilot study , 2004, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[3]  M. Wallenius.  Pregnancy related aspects of chronic inflammatory arthritides: disease onset postpartum, pregnancy outcomes and fertility: Data from a Norwegian patient registry linked to the Medical Birth Registry of Norway , 2011 .

[4]  M. Törnqvist,et al.  Acrylamide: a cooking carcinogen? , 2000, Chemical research in toxicology.

[5]  S. London,et al.  The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study , 2011 .

[6]  D J Barker,et al.  Fetal nutrition and adult disease. , 2000, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[7]  C. Landersdorfer,et al.  Acrylamide: Increased Concentrations in Homemade Food and First Evidence of Its Variable Absorption from Food, Variable Metabolism and Placental and Breast Milk Transfer in Humans , 2003, Chemotherapy.

[8]  M. Törnqvist,et al.  A new modified Edman procedure for analysis of N-terminal valine adducts in hemoglobin by LC-MS/MS. , 2010, Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences.

[9]  D. Ruppert,et al.  Measurement Error in Nonlinear Models , 1995 .

[10]  F. Granath,et al.  Health effects of occupational exposure to acrylamide using hemoglobin adducts as biomarkers of internal dose. , 2001, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[11]  A. Brantsæter.  Validation of dietary data in pregnancy : Validation of the food frequency questionnaire developed for the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) , 2007 .

[12]  Jan Alexander,et al.  Validity of a new food frequency questionnaire for pregnant women in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). , 2007, Maternal & child nutrition.

[13]  H. Meltzer,et al.  Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins is associated with increased risk of wheeze and infections in infants. , 2011, Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.

[14]  H. Gjessing,et al.  Birthweight by gestational age in Norway , 2000, Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica.

[15]  M. Kogevinas,et al.  Maternal dietary intake of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls and birth size in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). , 2013, Environment international.

[16]  M. Haugen,et al.  Comparison of estimated dietary intake of acrylamide with hemoglobin adducts of acrylamide and glycidamide. , 2007, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[17]  A. Fernando,et al.  Effects of fried potato chip supplementation on mouse pregnancy and fetal development. , 2011, Nutrition.

[18]  M. Warholm,et al.  Hemoglobin adducts as a measure of variations in exposure to acrylamide in food and comparison to questionnaire data. , 2012, Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.

[19]  L. Barraj,et al.  Dietary acrylamide exposure and hemoglobin adducts--National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003-04). , 2010, Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.

[20]  M. Andersen,et al.  Human exposure and internal dose assessments of acrylamide in food. , 2005, Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.

[21]  H. Grönberg,et al.  Acrylamide exposure measured by food frequency questionnaire and hemoglobin adduct levels and prostate cancer risk in the Cancer of the Prostate in Sweden Study , 2009, International journal of cancer.

[22]  W. Willett,et al.  Validation of a food frequency questionnaire measurement of dietary acrylamide intake using hemoglobin adducts of acrylamide and glycidamide , 2009, Cancer Causes & Control.

[23]  Fang Chen,et al.  Acrylamide. , 1986, Report on carcinogens : carcinogen profiles.

[24]  Eden Tareke,et al.  Analysis of acrylamide, a carcinogen formed in heated foodstuffs. , 2002, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[25]  L. Irgens,et al.  The Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Epidemiological research and surveillance throughout 30 years , 2000, Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica.

[26]  R L Andres,et al.  Perinatal complications associated with maternal tobacco use. , 2000, Seminars in neonatology : SN.

[27]  M. Jokela,et al.  Birthweight and mortality in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis. , 2011, International journal of epidemiology.

[28]  Jan Alexander,et al.  Methodological challenges when monitoring the diet of pregnant women in a large study: experiences from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). , 2007, Maternal & child nutrition.

[29]  W. Uter,et al.  The association between self-reported acrylamide intake and hemoglobin adducts as biomarkers of exposure , 2008, Cancer Causes & Control.

[30]  L. Knudsen,et al.  Analysis of hemoglobin adducts from acrylamide, glycidamide, and ethylene oxide in paired mother/cord blood samples from Denmark. , 2011, Chemical research in toxicology.

[31]  L. S. Haug,et al.  Placental transfer of perfluorinated compounds is selective--a Norwegian Mother and Child sub-cohort study. , 2012, International journal of hygiene and environmental health.

[32]  E Dybing,et al.  Risk assessment of acrylamide in foods. , 2003, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[33]  M. Törnqvist,et al.  Differences in the frequency of micronucleated erythrocytes in humans in relation to consumption of fried carbohydrate-rich food. , 2008, Mutation research.

[34]  L. Hagmar,et al.  Associations between estimated acrylamide intakes, and hemoglobin AA adducts in a sample from the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort , 2008, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

[35]  M. Törnqvist,et al.  Biomonitoring of acrylamide , 2006 .

[36]  D. Barker.  Fetal programming of coronary heart disease , 2002, Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism.

[37]  D. Segerbäck,et al.  Transplacental transfer of acrylamide and glycidamide are comparable to that of antipyrine in perfused human placenta. , 2008, Toxicology letters.

[38]  M. Törnqvist,et al.  Chronic intake of potato chips in humans increases the production of reactive oxygen radicals by leukocytes and increases plasma C-reactive protein: a pilot study. , 2009, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[39]  P. Magnus,et al.  Cohort profile: the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). , 2006, International journal of epidemiology.

[40]  Berit Granum,et al.  Birth Weight, Head Circumference, and Prenatal Exposure to Acrylamide from Maternal Diet: The European Prospective Mother–Child Study (NewGeneris) , 2012, Environmental health perspectives.

[41]  A. Brantsaeter,et al.  Exploration of different methods to assess dietary acrylamide exposure in pregnant women participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). , 2008, Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.

[42]  J. Rice.  The carcinogenicity of acrylamide. , 2005, Mutation research.

[43]  N. Duale,et al.  Biomarkers of Human Exposure to Acrylamide and Relation to Polymorphisms in Metabolizing Genes , 2009, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[44]  H. Clewell,et al.  Acrylamide: Review of Toxicity Data and Dose-Response Analyses for Cancer and Noncancer Effects , 2006, Critical reviews in toxicology.

[45]  Per Magnus,et al.  Self-selection and bias in a large prospective pregnancy cohort in Norway. , 2009, Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology.

[46]  Thomas J. Smith,et al.  NTP-CERHR expert panel report on the reproductive and developmental toxicity of acrylamide. , 2005, Birth defects research. Part B, Developmental and reproductive toxicology.

[47]  H. Bartsch,et al.  International Agency for Research on Cancer. , 1969, WHO chronicle.

[48]  E. Bergmark,et al.  Hemoglobin adducts of acrylamide and acrylonitrile in laboratory workers, smokers and nonsmokers. , 1997, Chemical research in toxicology.