article · Environmental Health
A study comparing women with preeclampsia to healthy controls in Kinshasa demonstrates that affected women excrete significantly higher quantities of multiple toxic metals, most notably lead. The data also reveals that this toxic metal excretion follows a seasonal variation. These exposure patterns could potentially account for the elevated incidence and distinct seasonal fluctuations of preeclampsia observed within the city. Although the specific environmental sources responsible for exposing these women to hazardous metals remain unidentified, the findings highlight an urgent requirement to curb environmental contamination. Protecting populations from lead and other toxic heavy metals represents an important target for maternal health policy and preventative environmental health interventions.
Linking preeclampsia and its seasonal patterns to toxic metal exposure, particularly lead, suggests that environmental hazards could drive maternal health risks in urban settings. These findings underline the importance of public health programmes aimed at preventing environmental metal contamination, offering a potential preventative strategy to reduce pregnancy complications even as precise exposure pathways remain to be identified.
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This study revealed not only that women with preeclampsia excrete higher amounts of several toxic metals, especially lead, than control women, but also that this excretion exhibits seasonal variation, thus possibly explaining the high incidence and seasonal variation of preeclampsia in Kinshasa. Although the exact sources of this exposure are unknown, these findings underscore the need for preventing environmental exposures to lead and other toxic metals.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12940-016-0132-1
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