Multiple external stressors are known to have adverse impacts on health and development. Certain groups are more vulnerable and/or more likely to be exposed toenvironmental, psychological, and social stressors simultaneously. Yet, few studies have examined combined exposure to environmental toxicants and psychosocial stress. Here, we integrated environmental chemical exposure data collected using silicone wristbands and self-report social stressor data within the Brain and Early Experience (BEE) perinatal cohort to understand co-exposure to environmental chemicals and social stress. Silicone wristbands were worn for one week by mothers throughout central North Carolina who were 6 months postpartum (n = 97). Exposure to 110 environmental chemicals across eight chemical classes was quantified on silicone wristbands using gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Social stress was evaluated using eight established self-report questionnaires (e.g., Brief Symptom Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale), quantifying experiences such as race-related stress, economic strain, and relationship conflict. Hair cortisol levels were measured as an additional metric of stress. The chemical exposure landscape and associations among chemical exposure, demographic characteristics, and social stress were characterized through individual variable analyses, cluster and data reduction, and compiled scoring approaches to comprehensively evaluate chemical and social stress burdens. We found that chemicals contain co-occurring patterns largely based on chemical class, with phthalates representing the chemical class with highest exposure and polychlorinated biphenyls the lowest. Chemicals showed differential exposure across racial groups, with diethyl phthalate, triphenyl phosphate, and tris(3,5-dimethyl phenyl) phosphate at higher levels in Black participants compared with White participants. Integrating social stressor profiling with chemical exposure data identified one particularly vulnerable subset of participants in which high chemical exposure burden coincided with high experiences of racism and economic stress. These findings demonstrate co-occurring chemical and social stress, warranting further investigation to better understand how these combined stressors may contribute to disparities in maternal and child health.

中文翻译：

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通过腕带和自我报告数据分析产后队列中的化学和非化学压力源：化学负担增加、经济和种族压力之间的联系


众所周知，多种外部压力源会对健康和发展产生不利影响。某些群体更容易和/或更有可能同时受到环境、心理和社会压力的影响。然而，很少有研究检查环境毒物和社会心理压力的综合暴露。在这里，我们整合了使用硅胶腕带收集的环境化学物质暴露数据和大脑和早期经验 （BEE） 围产期队列中的自我报告社会压力源数据，以了解共同暴露于环境化学物质和社会压力。北卡罗来纳州中部产后 6 个月的母亲佩戴硅胶腕带一周 （n = 97）。使用气相色谱质谱法在硅胶腕带上量化了 8 种化学类别的 110 种环境化学品的暴露量。使用八份已建立的自我报告问卷（例如，简要症状清单、感知压力量表）评估社会压力，量化与种族相关的压力、经济压力和关系冲突等体验。测量头发皮质醇水平作为压力的附加指标。通过个体变量分析、聚类和数据缩减来表征化学品暴露格局和化学品暴露、人口学特征和社会压力之间的关联，并编制评分方法以全面评估化学和社会压力负担。我们发现，化学品包含主要基于化学类别的共存模式，邻苯二甲酸盐代表暴露量最高的化学类别，而多氯联苯代表最低的化学类别。 化学品显示出不同种族群体的暴露差异，与白人参与者相比，黑人参与者的邻苯二甲酸二乙酯、磷酸三苯酯和磷酸三（3,5-二甲基苯基）含量更高。将社会压力源分析与化学品暴露数据相结合，确定了一个特别脆弱的参与者子集，其中高化学品暴露负担与种族主义和经济压力的高经历相吻合。这些发现表明化学和社会压力同时存在，值得进一步调查以更好地了解这些综合压力源如何导致孕产妇和儿童健康的差异。