Maternal per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances exposure and child adiposity measures: A birth cohort study
Xiuxia Song1, Jiajia Wu2, Honglei Ji1
1NHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies, China.
Insights
Maternal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during pregnancy is linked to increased offspring adiposity. These findings suggest chemical-specific effects of PFAS on early childhood physical development.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Pediatric Development
- Toxicology
Background:
- Maternal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during pregnancy is a growing concern.
- Previous research on PFAS and offspring physical development shows inconsistent findings.
- The cumulative impact of PFAS mixtures on child adiposity remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between maternal PFAS exposure and offspring adiposity in the first two years of life.
- To evaluate the overall effect of PFAS mixtures on adiposity measures.
- To identify specific PFAS chemicals associated with altered offspring development.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal cohort study of 937 mother-child pairs.
- Analysis of 13 PFASs in maternal blood samples.
- Repeated measurements of child weight and length to calculate ponderal index (PI) and weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ).
- Statistical analysis using linear mixed models and quantile g-computation (QGC).
Main Results:
- Maternal PFAS exposure was significantly associated with increased offspring ponderal index (PI).
- Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTrDA) showed the strongest association with PI.
- Similar patterns of association were observed between maternal PFAS and weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ).
- Quantile g-computation confirmed the overall effect of PFAS mixtures on adiposity.
Conclusions:
- Maternal PFAS exposure during pregnancy is associated with increased adiposity in young children.
- The observed associations may be chemical-specific, highlighting the need for further investigation.
- Findings underscore the potential programming effects of environmental contaminants on early child development.
Abstract:
Maternal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during pregnancy may have a programming effect on the physical development of the offspring. However, the findings of the association between PFAS and the physical development of offspring were inconsistent, and the overall effects of the PFAS mixture were unclear. In this study, we examined the associations between maternal PFAS exposure and offspring adiposity during the first two years of life. A total of 937 mother-child pairs from the Jiashan Birth Cohort Study were investigated. Thirteen PFASs were analyzed in maternal blood samples. Child weight and length were measured at birth, 1, 3, 6, 8, 12, and 24 months, and the ponderal index (PI) and weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ) were calculated. Longitudinal associations of PFAS concentrations (by quartile) with repeated data of PI and WAZ were examined using linear mixed model, and the overall effect of the PFAS mixture on adiposity measures was evaluated using quantile g-computation (QGC). Maternal PFAS exposure was associated with increased PI in both the linear mixed model and the QGC model. Among the PFAS examined, the associations between maternal PFTrDA exposure and PI were the strongest. Maternal PFAS and WAZ showed similar patterns of association. In the longitudinal cohort study, we found that adiposity in young children is increased by maternal PFAS exposure. The associations between maternal PFASs concentrations and child adiposity may be chemical-specific.
