{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T05:06:29Z","timestamp":1784264789548,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cannabis use among breastfeeding women is increasing. While studies have shown that cannabinoids transfer into human milk, whether breastfed infants of mothers who use cannabis are exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is not known. Here, we characterized VOC metabolite concentrations in urine produced by exclusively breastfed infants whose mothers used cannabis. Relationships between infant urinary VOC metabolite concentrations and milk delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (\u22069-THC) concentrations and cannabis use modality (smoking\/vaping) were documented. Twenty mother\u2013infant dyads (&lt;6 months postpartum) living in Washington and Oregon were enrolled in the Lactation and Cannabis (LAC) Study, and nineteen were included in the current study. Mothers collected baseline infant urine and milk samples (following \u226512 h of cannabis abstention) and three infant urine and five milk samples over 8\u201312 h following cannabis use. Sixty-five urine samples were analyzed for VOC metabolite concentrations, and 111 milk samples were previously analyzed for \u22069-THC. Results indicate detectable levels of 24 VOC metabolites in infant urine. Non-baseline infant urine had greater concentrations of 15 VOC metabolites than matched baseline samples (p &lt; 0.05). Urinary 2CyEMA (acrylonitrile metabolite) and 2CaEMA (acrylamide metabolite) concentrations were positively correlated with \u22069-THC concentrations in milk. Urinary 2CyEMA concentrations were higher in infants whose mothers primarily smoked (including those who smoked and vaped) compared to those who exclusively vaped (B = \u22120.637, SE = 0.317, p = 0.044). 2CaEMA concentrations were also greater in the urine produced by infants whose mothers reported any cannabis smoking versus only vaping on the study day (B = \u22124.06, SE = 1.42, p = 0.004). Results indicate that infants whose mothers use cannabis have measurable VOC exposure. Further research is needed to assess the potential health implications, if any.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23070905","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T08:08:34Z","timestamp":1784189314000},"page":"905","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Volatile Organic Compound Metabolites Are Found in the Urine of Breastfed Infants Whose Mothers Use Cannabis: The Lactation and Cannabis (LAC) Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Shelby","family":"Samartino","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4788-8169","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Benjamin","family":"Blount","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7613-6831","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christopher","family":"Reese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6620-7096","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lanqing","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David R.","family":"Gang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5576-4150","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Celestina","family":"Barbosa-Leiker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health and Human Development, California State University, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6095-2378","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elizabeth A.","family":"Holdsworth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Janet E.","family":"Williams","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5513-8424","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mark A.","family":"McGuire","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8214-2229","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michelle K.","family":"McGuire","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2034-652X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Courtney L.","family":"Meehan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"544","DOI":"10.1007\/s10865-022-00299-1","article-title":"Beliefs about marijuana use during pregnancy and breastfeeding held by residents of a Latino-majority, rural region of California","volume":"45","author":"Cameron","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Behav. Med."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugalcdep.2013.09.008","article-title":"Tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use during pregnancy: Clustering of risks","volume":"134","author":"Passey","year":"2014","journal-title":"Drug Alcohol Depend."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"858","DOI":"10.1007\/s11524-008-9315-6","article-title":"Illicit drug use and adverse birth outcomes: Is it drugs or context?","volume":"85","author":"Schempf","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Urban Health"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"415","DOI":"10.1097\/OGX.0000000000000685","article-title":"Marijuana use in pregnancy: A review","volume":"74","author":"Thompson","year":"2019","journal-title":"Obstet. Gynecol. Surv."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6","DOI":"10.1186\/s42238-023-00212-w","article-title":"Cannabis use, decision making, and perceptions of risk among breastfeeding individuals: The lactation and cannabis (LAC) study","volume":"6","author":"Smith","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Cannabis Res."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e20181076","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2018-1076","article-title":"Marijuana use by breastfeeding mothers and cannabinoid concentrations in breast milk","volume":"142","author":"Bertrand","year":"2018","journal-title":"Pediatrics"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e20181889","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2018-1889","article-title":"Marijuana use during pregnancy and breastfeeding: Implications for neonatal and childhood outcomes","volume":"142","author":"Ryan","year":"2018","journal-title":"Pediatrics"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8","DOI":"10.22374\/cjmrp.v16i2.67","article-title":"Does the risk of exposure to marijuana outweigh the benefits of breastfeeding? A systematic review","volume":"16","author":"Seabrook","year":"2017","journal-title":"Can. J. Midwifery Res. Pract."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"783","DOI":"10.1097\/AOG.0000000000002575","article-title":"Transfer of inhaled cannabis into human breast milk","volume":"131","author":"Baker","year":"2018","journal-title":"Obstet. Gynecol."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"515","DOI":"10.1089\/bfm.2024.0021","article-title":"Human milk cannabinoid concentrations and associations with maternal factors: The lactation and cannabis (LAC) study","volume":"19","author":"Holdsworth","year":"2024","journal-title":"Breastfeed. Med."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"686","DOI":"10.1093\/jat\/bkaa142","article-title":"Detection of cannabinoids by LC-MS-MS and ELISA in breast milk","volume":"45","author":"Sempio","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Anal. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"632","DOI":"10.1001\/jamapediatrics.2020.6098","article-title":"Persistence of \u0394-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in human breast milk","volume":"175","author":"Wymore","year":"2021","journal-title":"JAMA Pediatr."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1959","DOI":"10.1038\/s41390-022-02315-1","article-title":"Cannabis use during lactation may alter the composition of human breast milk","volume":"93","author":"Josan","year":"2023","journal-title":"Pediatr. Res."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1016\/0892-0362(90)90129-Z","article-title":"Maternal marijuana use during lactation and infant development at one year","volume":"12","author":"Astley","year":"1990","journal-title":"Neurotoxicol. Teratol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tennes, K., Avitable, N., Blackard, C., Boyles, C., Hassoun, B., Holmes, L., and Kreye, M. (1985). Marijuana: Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure in the Human: (496932006-005), American Psychological Association. Available online: http:\/\/doi.apa.org\/get-pe-doi.cfm?doi=10.1037\/e496932006-005.","DOI":"10.1037\/e496932006-005"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ashley, D.L., De Jes\u00fas, V.R., Abulseoud, O.A., Huestis, M.A., Milan, D.F., and Blount, B.C. (2020). Urinary acrylonitrile metabolite concentrations before and after smoked, vaporized, and oral cannabis in frequent and occasional cannabis users. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17186438"},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"International Agency for Research on Cancer (2004). Tobacco Smoke and Involuntary Smoking: This Publication Represents the Views and Expert Opinions of an IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Which Met in Lyon, 11\u201318 June 2002, IARC. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2875","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph9082875","article-title":"Leukemia and Benzene","volume":"9","author":"Snyder","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Torres, S., Merino, C., Paton, B., Correig, X., and Ram\u00edrez, N. (2018). Biomarkers of exposure to secondhand and thirdhand tobacco smoke: Recent advances and future perspectives. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph15122693"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amepre.2015.05.027","article-title":"Toking, vaping, and eating for health or fun: Marijuana use patterns in adults, U.S., 2014","volume":"50","author":"Schauer","year":"2016","journal-title":"Am. J. Prev. Med."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1406","DOI":"10.1021\/tx9000286","article-title":"The genotoxicity of mainstream and sidestream marijuana and tobacco smoke condensates","volume":"22","author":"Maertens","year":"2009","journal-title":"Chem. Res. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"125","DOI":"10.1093\/ntr\/ntab125","article-title":"Cigarette smokers versus cannabis smokers versus co-users of cigarettes and cannabis: A pilot study examining exposure to toxicants","volume":"24","author":"Meier","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nicotine Tob. Res."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"494","DOI":"10.1021\/tx700275p","article-title":"A comparison of mainstream and sidestream marijuana and tobacco cigarette smoke produced under two machine smoking conditions","volume":"21","author":"Moir","year":"2008","journal-title":"Chem. Res. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envint.2015.12.003","article-title":"Urinary concentrations of PAH and VOC metabolites in marijuana users","volume":"88","author":"Wei","year":"2016","journal-title":"Environ. Int."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112774","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2022.112774","article-title":"Cigarette smoking is associated with acrylamide exposure among the U.S. population: NHANES 2011\u20132016","volume":"209","author":"Kenwood","year":"2022","journal-title":"Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbi.2008.08.010","article-title":"Research electronic data capture (REDCap)\u2014A metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support","volume":"42","author":"Harris","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Biomed. Inform."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cuttler, C., and Spradlin, A. (2017). Measuring cannabis consumption: Psychometric properties of the Daily Sessions, Frequency, Age of Onset, and Quantity of Cannabis Use Inventory (DFAQ-CU). PLoS ONE, 12.","DOI":"10.1037\/t92591-000"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugalcdep.2017.01.046","article-title":"Cannabidiol-\u03949-tetrahydrocannabinol interactions on acute pain and locomotor activity","volume":"175","author":"Britch","year":"2017","journal-title":"Drug Alcohol Depend."},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Young, M.S., and Martin, J.T. (2010). Optimized SPE for UPLC-MS\/MS and GC-MS\/MS Determination of THC and Its Metabolites in Urine and Blood (Application Note No. 720003738EN), Waters Corporation (waters.com)."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"152","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aca.2012.04.009","article-title":"Simultaneous analysis of 28 urinary VOC metabolites using ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI\/MSMS)","volume":"750","author":"Alwis","year":"2012","journal-title":"Anal. Chim. Acta"},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"Taylor, J.K. (1987). Quality Assurance of Chemical Measurements, Routledge. [1st ed.]."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121746","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jchromb.2019.121746","article-title":"Development of a UPLC-ESI-MS\/MS method to measure urinary metabolites of selected VOCs: Benzene, cyanide, furfural, furfuryl alcohol, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone","volume":"1126\u20131127","author":"Bhandari","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Chromatogr. B"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"289","DOI":"10.1093\/bioinformatics\/btg412","article-title":"APE: Analyses of phylogenetics and evolution in R language","volume":"20","author":"Paradis","year":"2004","journal-title":"Bioinformatics"},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"H\u00f8jsgaard, S., Halekoh, U., and Yan, J. (2025, August 21). geepack: Generalized Estimating Equation Package. Available online: https:\/\/CRAN.R-project.org\/package=geepack."},{"key":"ref_35","unstructured":"National Center for Environmental Health (U.S.) (2024, October 28). National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, Available online: https:\/\/stacks.cdc.gov\/view\/cdc\/133100."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"153","DOI":"10.1158\/1940-6207.CAPR-19-0356","article-title":"Comparison of systemic exposure to toxic and\/or carcinogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC) during vaping, smoking, and abstention","volume":"13","author":"Liakoni","year":"2020","journal-title":"Cancer Prev. Res."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1354","DOI":"10.1093\/ntr\/ntz122","article-title":"Nicotine and toxicant exposure among concurrent users (co-users) of tobacco and cannabis","volume":"22","author":"Smith","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nicotine Tob. Res."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"National Toxicology Program (2024, October 28). 15th Report on Carcinogens, Available online: https:\/\/ntp.niehs.nih.gov\/whatwestudy\/assessments\/cancer\/roc."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jchromb.2005.07.042","article-title":"Determination of the major mercapturic acids of acrylamide and glycidamide in human urine by LC\u2013ESI-MS\/MS","volume":"824","author":"Boettcher","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Chromatogr. B"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/23\/7\/905\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T04:26:18Z","timestamp":1784262378000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/23\/7\/905"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"references-count":39,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph23070905"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph23070905","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]}}}