Relationship between levels of dioxin in food and blood in some areas of Vietnam

Objectives: To assess levels of dioxin in food and human blood and determine the relationship between levels of dioxin in food and human blood in some areas of Vietnam. Subjects and method: A cross-sectional study on 108 human blood samples including males and females, 33 samples of chicken, 33 samples of pork and 33 samples of fish were collected at 33 sites in 16 provinces.

JOURNAL OF MILITARY PHARMACO-MEDICINE N09-2017 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEVELS OF DIOXIN IN FOOD AND BLOOD IN SOME AREAS OF VIETNAM Vu Tung Son*; Doan Huy Hau* Vu Chien Thang*; Ha The Tan* SUMMARY Objectives: To assess levels of dioxin in food and human blood and determine the relationship between levels of dioxin in food and human blood in some areas of Vietnam Subjects and method: A cross-sectional study on 108 human blood samples including males and females, 33 samples of chicken, 33 samples of pork and 33 samples of fish were collected at 33 sites in 16 provinces Samples were then quantified with high resolution gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) by the U.S EPA 1613 B Result: Levels of dioxin in blood in the sprayed area was (10.34 pg/g lipid) higher than in the unsprayed area (6.94 pg/g lipid) with p < 0.05 The levels of dioxin in blood in the dioxin-contaminated area was (9.62 pg/g lipid) higher than in the non-contamination area (8.24 pg/g lipid) with p < 0.05 For food, chicken had the highest dioxin content Chicken and pork were positively correlated with dioxin content in human blood Conclusion: Levels of dioxin in blood in the area sprayed with herbicides was higher than in the unsprayed area Similarly, they were higher in the dioxin contamination than in the non-contamination area Chicken and pork have positive corelation with dioxin content in human blood * Keywords: Dioxin; Dioxin in food; Dioxin in blood; Relationship INTRODUCTION Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) include a group of pollutants that are semi-volatile, persistent in the environment, bio-accumulative and toxic for humans and aminals Two groups of POPs, namely polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), poly-chlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistently organic pollutants of great concern because of their high toxicity and tendency to bioaccumulate through the food chain These contaminants can be formed as unintentional by products of a number of chemical processes, as well as in almost combustion process More than 90 percent of dioxin penetrates the human body through food Therefore, the aim of this study is: To evaluate the relationship between levels of dioxin in food (chicken, pork and fish) and those in blood in several regions of Vietnam * Vietnam Military Medical University Corresponding author: Vu Tung Son (tungsonhvqy@gmail.com) Date received: 11/09/2017 Date accepted: 21/11/2017 152 JOURNAL OF MILITARY PHARMACO-MEDICINE N09-2017 SUBJECTS AND METHODS Samples were selected based on the characteristics of each region The areas Subjects - The first subject: People who have lived in study area for at least 15 years (no occupational exposure to dioxin), including males and females After that, they were taken blood to quantify levels of dioxin were sprayed with herbicides during the war (from the 17th parallel to the south, which was encrypted “B”) and the area was unsprayed with herbicides during the war in Vietnam (from the 17th parallel to the North, which was encrypted “A”) - The second subject: Food (chicken, In turn, each area was divided into those pork and fish) which was collected at the at risk of dioxin contamination, which was same area; blood samples (food specimens encrypted “1” (industrial production area were collected in the lake or market) or the area was sprayed directly with Afterward, they were quantified levels of herbicides) and those without dioxin dioxin contamination, which was encrypted “0” Methods At each sampling point, each food was 33 samples of chicken, 33 samples of taken from to 10 specimens and then pork, 33 samples of fish and 108 samples were pulled to one sample For blood of blood were collected in 33 wards of specimen, each person was taken 10 mL 16 provinces in Vietnam (Hoabinh, Hagiang, whose blood samples were grouped by Thainguyen, age and gender Nghean, Ninhbinh, Quangtri, Hue, Thanhhoa, Lamdong, The sample size and sampling according Kontum, Hochiminh City, Binhduong, to US EPA (United States Environmental Dongnai, Longan, Kiengiang, Angiang) Protection Agency) guidelines Encode: A The area was not sprayed with herbicides during the war in Vietnam B The areas were sprayed with herbicides during the war AB-0 Areas are non-dioxin contamination at both A or B AB-1 Areas were at risk of dioxin contamination at both A or B * Analysis: Quantification PCDD (polychlorinated dibenzo para dioxins) and 10 PCDF (polychlorinated dibenzofurans) in blood and food by method US EPA 1613B, then compute WHO TEQ concentrations (toxic equivalents) 153 JOURNAL OF MILITARY PHARMACO-MEDICINE N09-2017 RESULTS Table 1: Levels of PCDD/F (TEQ) in blood by region TEQ (pg/g lipid) Region Number size p-value Min - max X  SD A 36 3.26 - 26.96 6.94 ± 4.41 B 72 3.33 - 23.71 10.34 ± 4.76 108 3.26 - 26.96 9.21 ± 4.89 < 0.001 Total Average TEQ was 9.21 pg/g lipid; average TEQ in blood at the areas which were sprayed with herbicides during the war was 10.34 pg/g lipid higher significantly than the area without herbicides in the same period (6.94 pg/g lipid) (p < 0.001) Table 2: Levels of PCDD/F (TEQ) in blood by contaminated areas TEQ (pg/g lipid) Feature Numbers p-value Min - max X ± SD AB-0 32 3.26 - 26.96 8.24 ± 5.35 AB-1 76 3.33 - 23.71 9.62 ± 4.67 0.04 Average TEQ in blood in the area at risk of dioxin contamination (AB-1) was 9.26 pg/g lipid, higher significantly than those without dioxin contamination (AB-0) (8.24 pg/g lipid) (p < 0.05) Table 3: Levels of PCDD/F (TEQ) in chicken, pork and fish by region TEQ (pg/g) Food Region Numbers Min - max X  SD A 15 0.19 - 6.96 1.8 ± 1.9 B 18 0.53 - 13.5 4.41 ± 3.4 A 15 0.09 - 1.76 0.69 ± 0.49 B 18 0.28 - 4.51 1.33 ± 1.18 A 15 0.1 - 0.65 0.28 ± 0.16 B 18 0.16 - 0.79 0.29 ± 0.16 Chicken (pg/g lipid) p 0.005 Pork (pg/g lipid) 0.07 Fish (pg/g wet weight) 0.4 Average TEQ in chicken, pork and fish in the areas sprayed with herbicides was higher than those unsprayed with herbicides However, only TEQ in chickens were different significantly with p < 0.05 154 JOURNAL OF MILITARY PHARMACO-MEDICINE N09-2017 Table 4: Levels of PCDD/F (TEQ) in chicken, pork and fish by contaminated areas TEQ (pg/g) Food Region Numbers p Min - max X  SD AB-0 11 0.4 - 6.96 2.3 ± 2.14 AB-1 22 0.19 - 13.5 3.69 ± 3.44 AB-0 11 0.09 - 1.55 0.64 ± 0.45 AB-1 22 0.22 - 4.51 1,25 ± 1.1 AB-0 11 0.1 - 0.59 0.26 ± 0.15 AB-1 22 0.13 - 0.79 0.29 ± 0.17 Chicken (pg/g lipid) 0.4 Pork (pg/g lipid) 0.08 Fish (pg/g wet weight) 0.6 Average TEQ in food in the area at risk of dioxin contamination (AB-1) was higher than non-contamination dioxin area (AB-0) However, there was no significant difference between the two regions with p > 0.05 Table 5: Corelate Pearson between TEQ in chicken, pork and fish and TEQ in blood TEQ Levels of dioxin (pg/g lipid) Chicken Number size TEQ in blood 108 Pork Fish r p r p r p 0.25 0.009 0.2 0.04 0.05 0.6 TEQ in blood were positively corelative to TEQ in chicken and pork (p < 0.05) with r = 0.25 and 0.2, respectively Table 6: Correlate Pearson between TEQ in chicken, pork and fish and TEQ in blood by region TEQ TEQ in blood by region Number Chicken size Pork Fish r p r p r p A 36 0.06 0.7 -0.03 0.8 0.38 0.02 B 72 0.15 0.19 0.15 0.2 -0.14 0.25 TEQ in blood were positively associated with fish at unsprayed areas (p < 0.05) with r = 0.38 155 JOURNAL OF MILITARY PHARMACO-MEDICINE N09-2017 Table 7: Correlate Pearson between TEQ in chicken, pork and fish and TEQ in blood by contaminated areas TEQ TEQ in blood by contaminated areas Number size Chicken Pork Fish r p r p r p AB-0 32 -0.04 0.8 0.1 0.6 0.46 0.008 AB-1 76 0.3 0.008 0.2 0.08 -0.11 0.3 TEQ in blood were positively associated with fish at unsprayed areas (p < 0.05) with r = 0.46 and chicken at sprayed area (p < 0.05) with r = 0.3 DISCUSSION The results showed that the content of TEQ dioxin in our study was from several times to dozens of times lower than that in the study by the Hatfield Consultants and Office of National Committee 33 in Bienhoa Airport and Phucat Airport which were reported in 2009 (5.64 - 8.350 pg/g wet weight in fish) and 2011 (4.54 - 4,050 pg/g wet weight in fish), respectively Because the samples in the study by Hatfield and Office 33 were taken in the dioxin hotpot [1, 2] Compared with 187 studies by Dario Consonni on 29,687 subjects from 26 countries in the world for 10 years (1989 to 2010), our results were lower than that his study (12.4 pg/g lipid) [3] In terms of food, a monitoring study in Latvia from the year 2009 - 2011 showed that the TEQ content of chicken in both sprayed and non-sprayed areas was 0.78 pg/g lipid, lower than that in our study (4.41 and 1.8 pg/g lipid, respectively) Specificially, TEQ content in all chicken samples reached the allowable limit As for pork, the TEQ content in our study 156 was (0.28 pg/g lipid) also higher than that in above study and no pork samples with TEQ content exceeded the allowable limit For fish, the TEQ content in our study in both regions was lower than fish specimens in Baltic (2.25 pg/g lipid), but our results were higher than fish samples in the ocean (0.11 pg/g lipid) In the monitoring study in Latvia, TEQ content in chicken was higher than in other types of meat, too [4] Levels of dioxin in chicken, pork and fish were related those in blood depending on the region and characteristics In particular, the content of chicken and pork had a statistically significant association with levels of dioxin in blood However, in terms of characteristics, there was a positive corelation between dioxin content in fish and human blood in the areas unsprayed with herbicides When analyzing the dioxin-contaminated characteristics, there was a positive association between dioxin concentration in fish and blood in the noncontaminated dioxin area, meanwhile in dioxin-contaminated areas, there was also JOURNAL OF MILITARY PHARMACO-MEDICINE N09-2017 a positive correlation between dioxin content in chicken and human blood CONCLUSION options for mitigating impacts Hatfield Consultants West Vancouver British Columbia, Canada and Office of National Committee 33, MONRE Hanoi, Vietnam 2009 The level of dioxin in blood in the sprayed areas was (10.34 pg/g lipid) higher than in the unsprayed areas (6.94 pg/g lipid) (p < 0.001) The levels of dioxin in blood in the dioxin-contaminated areas was (9.62 pg/g lipid) higher than in the non-contamination areas (8.24 pg/g lipid) with p < 0.05 Chicken and pork have positive correlation with dioxin content in human blood Hatfield Consultants, Office of the National Steering Committee 33, MONRE Environmental and human health assessment of dioxin contamination at Bienhoa Airbase, Vietnam 200 - 850 Harbourside Drive, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V7P 0A3 2011 REFERENCES Zacs D, Bartkevics V Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans and dioxinlike polychlorinated biphenyls in food and feed in Latvia in 2009-2011 Food Additives & Contaminants Part B, Surveillance 2014, (3), pp.186-220 Hatfield Consultants, Office of National Committee 33 Comprehensive assessment of dioxin contamination in Danang Airport, Vietnam: Environmental levels, Human exposure and Consonni D, Sindaco R, Bertazzi P.A Blood levels of dioxins, furans, dioxin-like PCBs, and TEQs in general populations: a review 1989 - 2010 Environment International 2012, 44, pp.151-162 157 ... analyzing the dioxin- contaminated characteristics, there was a positive association between dioxin concentration in fish and blood in the noncontaminated dioxin area, meanwhile in dioxin- contaminated... significant association with levels of dioxin in blood However, in terms of characteristics, there was a positive corelation between dioxin content in fish and human blood in the areas unsprayed with... < 0.001) The levels of dioxin in blood in the dioxin- contaminated areas was (9.62 pg/g lipid) higher than in the non-contamination areas (8.24 pg/g lipid) with p < 0.05 Chicken and pork have