Longitudinal Assessment of Prenatal, Perinatal, and Early-Life Aflatoxin B

In utero or early-life exposure to aflatoxin, which contaminates staple crops in disadvantaged settings, may compromise pregnancy and infant outcomes, but investigations into the extent, persistence, and determinants of aflatoxin exposure at these life stages have lacked longitudinal data collection and broad geographic representation.Aflatoxin exposure and selected determinants thereof were characterized in mother-child dyads with serial plasma/serum samples in prenatal, perinatal, and early life in Malawi and Bangladesh.Circulating aflatoxin BMaternal AFBAmong pregnant women, aflatoxin exposure was persistently high in Malawi, while lower and seasonal in Bangladesh. Infants were partially protected from exposure in utero and with exclusive breastfeeding, but exposures reached adult levels by 18-24 mo of age. The Bangladesh and Malawi trials are registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00860470 and NCT01239693.