Ochratoxin A Status at Birth Is Associated with Reduced Birth Weight and Ponderal Index in Rural Burkina Faso

Yuri Bastos-Moreira; Alemayehu Argaw; Giulianmichela Di Palma; Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg; Jasmin El-Hafi; Lionel Olivier Ouédraogo; Laeticia Celine Toe; Sarah De Saeger; Carl Lachat; Marthe De Boevre

doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.10.015

Ochratoxin A Status at Birth Is Associated with Reduced Birth Weight and Ponderal Index in Rural Burkina Faso

J Nutr. 2024 Oct 10:S0022-3166(24)01082-4. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.10.015. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ Center of Excellence in Mycotoxicology and Public Health, MYTOX-SOUTH® Coordination Unit, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
² Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
³ Department of Chemistry, University of Torino, Torino, Italy.
⁴ Center of Excellence in Mycotoxicology and Public Health, MYTOX-SOUTH® Coordination Unit, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Institute of Food Chemistry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
⁵ Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Laboratoire de Biologie Clinique, Centre Muraz, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
⁶ Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Unité Nutrition et Maladies Métaboliques, Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
⁷ Center of Excellence in Mycotoxicology and Public Health, MYTOX-SOUTH® Coordination Unit, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, Gauteng, South Africa.
⁸ Center of Excellence in Mycotoxicology and Public Health, MYTOX-SOUTH® Coordination Unit, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Marthe.DeBoevre@UGent.be.

PMID: 39393495
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.10.015

Abstract

Background: Mycotoxin exposure during pregnancy has been associated with adverse birth outcomes and poor infant growth. We assessed multiple biomarkers and metabolites of exposure to mycotoxins at birth and their associations with birth outcomes and infant growth in 274 newborns in rural Burkina Faso.

Methods: Whole-blood microsamples were analyzed for mycotoxin concentrations in newborns in the Biospecimen substudy nested in the MIcronutriments pour la SAnté de la Mère et de l'Enfant-III trial using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Unadjusted and adjusted associations between mycotoxin exposure, and birth outcomes and infant growth at 6 mo were estimated using linear regression models for continuous outcomes and linear probability models with robust variance estimation for binary outcomes. Infant growth trajectories from birth to 6 mo were compared by exposure status using mixed-effects models with a random intercept for the individual infant and a random slope for the infant's age.

Results: Ochratoxin A (OTA) exposure was detected in 38.3% of newborns, with other mycotoxins being detected in the range of 0.36% and 4.01%. OTA exposure was significantly associated with adverse birth outcomes, such as lower birth weight [β (95% CI): -0.11 kg (-0.21, 0.00); P = 0.042] and ponderal index [β (95% CI): -0.62 gm/cm³ (-1.19, -0.05); P = 0.034], and a marginally significant lower length growth trajectories during the first 6 mo [β (95% CI): -0.08 cm/mo (-0.15, 0.0); P = 0.057].

Conclusions: OTA exposure was prevalent among newborns and also associated with lower growth at birth and during the first 6 mo. The results emphasize the importance of nutrition-sensitive strategies to mitigate dietary OTA, as well as adopting food safety measures in Burkina Faso during the fetal period of development.

Keywords: MISAME-III; birth outcomes; exposomics; growth; low- and middle-income countries; mycotoxins; ochratoxin A; sub-Saharan Africa.