ReviewArchives of toxicology2017
WHO/UNEP global surveys of PCDDs, PCDFs, PCBs and DDTs in human milk and benefit-risk evaluation of breastfeeding.
Review in Archives of toxicology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 255 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of contaminants in donor human milk.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic evidence map for the evaluation of noncancer health effects and exposures to polychlorinated biphenyl mixtures.Environmental research · 2023Pooled it
- The impact of environmental pollution on the quality of mother's milk.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2019Pooled it
- Lessons from In Utero and Postnatal Exposure to Pesticide DDT: Mechanisms of Chromaffin Cell Vulnerability and Altered Catecholamine Homeostasis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Mixture analysis of associations between environmental and workplace toxins and liver damage and telomere length, stratified by race/ethnicity.Journal of environmental sciences (China) · 2025Article
- Cognitive effects of early life exposure to PCBs in rats: Sex-specific behavioral, hormonal and neuromolecular mechanisms involving the brain dopamine system.Hormones and behavior · 2025Article
- Associations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances with human milk metabolomic profiles in a rural North American cohort.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2024Article
- Effects of Early Life Exposures to the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Ligand TCDF on Gut Microbiota and Host Metabolic Homeostasis in C57BL/6J Mice.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Article
- Pollutants in Breast Milk: A Scoping Review of the Most Recent Data in 2024.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Predicted versus observed activity of PCB mixtures toward the ryanodine receptor.Neurotoxicology · 2024Article
- Metadata Analysis of Persistent Organic Pollutants in National Pools of Human Milk in Support of the Stockholm Convention Implementation.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2023Article
- Invited Perspective: PFAS in Breast Milk and Infant Formula-It's Time to Start Monitoring.Environmental health perspectives · 2023Article
- The Importance of Fostering and Funding Scientific Research, and its Relevance to Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.Environmental toxicology and chemistry · 2023Article
- The impact of the 2019/2020 Australian landscape fires on infant feeding and contaminants in breast milk in women with asthma.International breastfeeding journal · 2023Article
- Anthocyanin-rich blue potato meals protect against polychlorinated biphenyl-mediated disruption of short-chain fatty acid production and gut microbiota profiles in a simulated human digestion model.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Partitioning of Persistent Organic Pollutants between Adipose Tissue and Serum in Human Studies.Toxics · 2022Review
- Perspective: Human Milk Composition and Related Data for National Health and Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Article
- Unlocking India's Potential in Managing Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs): Importance, Challenges, and Opportunities.Exposure and health · 2022Article
- Food Safety Risks Posed by Heavy Metals and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) related to Consumption of Sea Cucumbers.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Changes in Polychlorinated Biphenyl Residues in Milk during Lactation: Levels of Contamination, Influencing Factors, and Infant Risk Assessment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Since 1987, the World Health Organization (WHO) carried out global surveys on polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in human milk. This study presents a review of the three most recent surveys from 2000 to 2010, including DDT. The objective was to identify global quantitative differences and provide baseline information for 52 countries or provide time-trends for countries with previous data. Individual human milk samples were collected following a WHO-designed procedure and combined to form a national pooled sample. Here, we report global levels for PCDDs, PCDFs, PCBs and the sum of o,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDE, o,p'-DDD and p,p'-DDD (ΣDDTs). A concise risk-benefit evaluation related to human milk contamination with these persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was also done. Large global and regional differences were observed. Levels of PCDDs and PCDFs were highest in India and some European and African countries. PCB levels were highest in East and West Europe. The highest levels of ΣDDTs were found in less industrialized countries. A temporal downward trend for PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs is indicated. A risk-benefit assessment indicates that human milk levels of PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs are still significantly above those considered toxicologically safe, while ΣDDTs are below or around those considered safe. With respect to potential adverse health effects, a more dominant role of in utero exposure versus lactational exposure is indicated. If potential adverse effects are balanced against positive health aspects for (breastfed) infants, the advantages of breastfeeding far outweigh the possible disadvantages. Our observations provide a strong argument to plea for further global source-directed measures to reduce human exposure further to dioxin-like compounds.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.