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Aim: Exposure assessment of lead (Pb) and Arsenic (As) from food, water, and house dust intake were assessed among pregnant women, their children and fetuses in Pakistan and Japan, as well as their body burden of the metals in their blood., Method: Fifty families which included a pregnant woman, a fetus and the 1-3-year-old siblings were recruited in Karachi and Khairpur in Pakistan, and Shimotsuke and Asahikawa in Japan, respectively. Their dietary exposure to Pb and As was measured in 3-day food duplicates and drinking water by ICP-MP. Pb in house dust and respirable dust was evaluated with an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Non-radioactive isotope Pb profiles of blood specimens will be compared with those of the exposure origins, such as food duplicates, respirable house dust, the soils nearby, and gasoline., Results: Judging from the data collected and analyzed so far, contribution from dietary intake is highly correlated to higher body burden of Pb among Pakistani mothers. Additional data analyses will reveal the status of Pb and As body burden in Pakistani mothers, fetuses and their siblings, and causal sources of high body burden is delineated by Pb isotope profile analysis of different sources of Pb exposure.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) during pregnancy and early life adversely affect the neuropsychological development of the children. The exposure levels and the dose at which adverse health effects occur are not known for Pb and As in developing countries to set population based standards and policies. OBJECTIVES: Health risk assessment for Pb and As among lactating mothers, newborns and young children (1-3 year old) by estimating provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) and provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI). METHODS: Total of 100 triplets comprising of mother, newborn and young child are being enrolled, 50 from Karachi (urban) and 50 from Gambat (rural) sites in Sindh. Exposure assessment will be the the level of Pb and As from mother's blood, hair and nails, placenta and cord blood for the newborn, and child's blood. In addition, environmental samples of air, house dust and water, and food duplicate samples for 3 days is being collected. Outcome assessment will be the maternal and newborn DNA (CD 34 cells) will be extracted to assess changes in epigenes. Bayley's III assessment will be done for assessing child development. CONCLUSION: Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intakes (PTWIs) and Provisional Tolerable Daily Intakes (PTDIs) recommended by the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) will be compared and standards and policies will be devised based on available information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]