Diet is considered the main source of Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) exposure in the general population, although there are still several gaps of knowledge regarding the differential contribution of main food groups. The aim of this study was to identify dietary patterns that contribute to human exposure to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs).

Study population (n = 1880, 18–65 years old) was recruited during 2009–2010 in all the main geographical areas of Spain. For this work, exposure was estimated by chemical analyses of serum levels of 6 PCBs (n = 1880), 13 OCPs (n = 934), and 6 (PFASs) in a subsample of 755 (n = 755). Dietary habits and covariates were gathered via self-administered questionnaires. Data analyses were performed by means of multivariable linear regression and weighted quantile sum regression.

Both the consumption of animal-based and plant-based food were positively associated with the individual concentrations of p,p´-DDE, hexachlorobenzene, and PCB-congeners −138, −153, and − 180. The contribution of animal-based products was 2.1–4.0× stronger except in p,p´-DDE, to which both patterns had similar contributions. In PFASs only animal food was positively associated with the exposure levels. The main animal-based contributors to PCB exposure were fish (49–64%) and eggs (19–36%), while OCP concentrations were mainly influenced by dairy products (32–48%) and fish (47–48%). PFOA and PFHxS were mainly explained by cold-meat (34–37%), fish (25–26%), and eggs (19–21%), while PFOS and PFDA were primarily influenced by fish consumption (44–77%). In the case of plant-based items, fruits (25–82%) and vegetables (18–63%) accounted for the majority of the variability of PCB and OCP concentrations.

Our results highlight the relevance of dietary POP exposure as well as the need for the consideration of nutritional interventions in public health programs aiming to reduce POP exposure in the general population.

在一般人群中，饮食被认为是持久性有机污染物（POP）暴露的主要来源，尽管有关主要食物组的不同贡献的知识仍然存在一些空白。这项研究的目的是确定饮食模式，这些饮食模式有助于人类接触有机氯农药（OCP），多氯联苯（PCB）和全氟烷基物质（PFAS）。

在2009-2010年期间，西班牙所有主要地理区域都招募了研究人群（n = 1880，年龄在18-65岁之间）。对于这项工作，通过对755个子样本（n = 755）中6种PCB（n = 1880），13种OCP（n = 934）和6种（PFASs）的血清水平进行化学分析来估算暴露水平。饮食习惯和协变量通过自我管理的问卷收集。数据分析通过多元线性回归和加权分位数和回归进行。

动物性食物和植物性食物的消费均与p，p´- DDE，六氯苯和PCB同类物-138，-153和-180的单独浓度成正相关。动物性产品的贡献比p，p´-强2.1–4.0倍DDE，两种模式对DDE的贡献相似。在PFAS中，只有动物性食物与暴露水平呈正相关。多氯联苯暴露的主要动物来源是鱼（49-64％）和鸡蛋（19-36％），而OCP浓度主要受乳制品（32-48％）和鱼（47-48％）的影响。PFOA和PFHxS的主要原因是冷肉（34–37％），鱼（25–26％）和鸡蛋（19–21％），而PFOS和PFDA主要受鱼的食用影响（44–77％） 。就植物性食品而言，水果（25％至82％）和蔬菜（18％至63％）占PCB和OCP浓度变化的大部分。

我们的结果强调了饮食中持久性有机污染物暴露的相关性，以及在旨在减少普通人群中持久性有机污染物暴露的公共卫生计划中需要考虑营养干预措施的必要性。