Maternal Aflatoxin Exposure, Birth Outcomes, and Infant Growth in Uganda

Abstract

The association between maternal aflatoxin exposure and infant anthropometric birth and growth outcomes was investigated in the present study, controlling for possible confounders. Pregnant women (N = 1,210) from 16 Ugandan subcounties were enrolled in a birth cohort study to track birth outcomes and subsequent growth of infants. Serum concentrations of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-lysine adduct, environmental enteric dysfunction markers of anti-lipopolysaccharide and anti-flagellin IgG and IgA, and markers of systemic inflammation, alpha-1 acid glycoprotein, and C-reactive protein were measured in mothers at birth and infants at 6 months of age. A generalized estimating equations model with an exchangeable correlation matrix was used to assess associations between maternal AFB1 blood concentration and weight, length, weight-for-age (WAZ), length-for-age (LAZ), and weight-for-length (WLZ) Z scores. Multivariable linear and logistic regressions were used to assess the association between infant aflatoxin concentrations and growth outcomes at 3 to 6 months of age. Serum aflatoxin concentrations in women at parturition were associated with reduced birth weight (P = 0.037) and WAZ (P = 0.034), but not with other birth outcomes. Aflatoxin concentrations in infants 6 months of age were not associated with changes in weight, height, WAZ, LAZ, or WLZ between 3 and 6 months of age. The present study confirmed an association between maternal aflatoxin and specific birth outcomes, but not between infant serum aflatoxin and infant early growth, which may be due to low exposure to aflatoxin-contaminated foods in early life. This finding highlights the importance of promoting national policy actions that minimize aflatoxin contamination of local food supplies, both on farms and in markets.