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Prenatal Exposure to Acetaminophen and Overweight in Childhood

Zeyan Liew1,2, Ellen A Nohr3, Camilla S Morgen4,5

  • 1Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)
|June 15, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal acetaminophen exposure showed no consistent links to childhood overweight. However, frequent exposure in girls during pregnancy was linked to increased overweight risk at age 11, warranting further study.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Developmental Toxicology
  • Reproductive Health

Background:

  • Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is widely used during pregnancy.
  • Experimental studies suggest acetaminophen has hormonal effects.
  • Prenatal exposure to endocrine disruptors may increase childhood weight gain risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and childhood overweight.
  • To evaluate potential links between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and children's BMI and waist circumference.

Main Methods:

  • Study included 30,127 children at age 7 and 24,934 at age 11 from the Danish National Birth Cohort.
  • Mothers reported acetaminophen use during pregnancy via telephone interviews.
  • Children's BMI and waist circumference were assessed at ages 7 and 11; analyses adjusted for confounders.

Main Results:

  • No consistent associations were found between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and BMI z-score or waist circumference in children at either age.
  • Prenatal acetaminophen exposure was associated with overweight in girls at age 11 (RR 1.31, 95% CI: 1.10-1.56) for exposure across all three trimesters.
  • No significant association was observed for boys.

Conclusions:

  • While no strong overall association exists between prenatal acetaminophen and childhood BMI, the link between frequent exposure and overweight in girls requires further investigation.
  • Findings suggest potential sex-specific effects of prenatal acetaminophen exposure on childhood weight.
Abstract

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