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Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants and Birth Characteristics: The Upstate KIDS Study

Griffith A Bell1, Neil Perkins1, Germaine M Buck Louis1,2

  • 1From the Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.

Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)
|October 1, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may influence birth weight. This study found higher POPs concentrations linked to a slightly increased risk of being large for gestational age (LGA) and higher birth weight.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Toxicology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is a growing concern.
  • POPs may have obesogenic effects on offspring development.
  • This study is the first to examine POPs in newborn dried blood spots (DBS) and birth characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between POP concentrations in newborn DBS and birth outcomes.
  • To assess the relationship between specific POPs and the risk of large for gestational age (LGA), small for gestational age (SGA), and preterm birth.

Main Methods:

  • Measured concentrations of 10 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ether-47 (PBDE-47), and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) in DBS from 2,065 infants.
  • Utilized pooled DBS samples to improve detection limits and reduce costs.
  • Employed logistic regression, adjusting for multiple covariates, to estimate risks of LGA, SGA, and preterm birth.

Main Results:

  • Higher POP concentrations were associated with a slightly increased risk of LGA (11.3% of singletons).
  • A positive association was observed between higher POP levels and increased birth weight.
  • No significant associations were found for SGA (7.5%) or preterm birth (7.6%).

Conclusions:

  • Associations between POPs in newborn DBS and birth size were mixed.
  • Pooled analysis of DBS is a viable method for large-scale environmental health research.
  • Further research is needed to fully understand the complex relationship between prenatal POP exposure and offspring development.
Abstract

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