Next-generation biomonitoring in a cohort of pregnant women from rural Bangladesh

The exposome represents all chemical exposures individuals encounter throughout their lifetime. Exposure to harmful chemicals during early life can lead to adverse later-life health outcomes, with prenatal exposure being of particular relevance. Maternal urine samples represent a valuable resource for monitoring the exposome during pregnancy including exposures to environmental, and lifestyle-related toxicants. We examined 446 urine samples from pregnant women living in rural Habiganj district in Bangladesh who participated in the Maternal Exposure to Mycotoxins and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (MEMAPO) cohort study. Using targeted multi-class next-generation human biomonitoring (HBM) LC-MS/MS assays, we analyzed more than 100 relevant xenobiotics. In total, 62 target compounds were detected in urine samples, showing varying individual exposure patterns. Antibiotics were detected in one third of samples, mycoestrogens in nearly half, and two thirds of samples contained biomarkers of exposure to polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Personal care product-related compounds, phytoestrogens, and biomarkers of exposure to nicotine, pesticides, plasticizers, and industrial chemicals were ubiquitously detected. Correlations between analytes revealed associations among chemically or functionally related compounds. This is the first large-scale application of a recently expanded next-generation HBM workflow and, to the best of our knowledge, the most comprehensive HBM dataset for pregnant women in Bangladesh and South Asia. The presented dataset includes normalized urinary concentrations based on creatinine ratios and specific density. Together with previously published data on mycotoxin exposure in this cohort, the presented dataset may serve as a basis for future investigations of how the detected chemical exposure mix affects pregnancy outcomes.