PFAS exposures and child growth: a longitudinal study from fetal life to early childhood

Prenatal exposure to poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been associated with lower birth weight or increased adiposity in adolescence. No study has investigated associations with longitudinal growth from conception to early childhood. We explored the association between maternal serum PFAS concentrations during pregnancy and child growth assessed repeatedly from the second trimester of pregnancy to 3 years of age.

In the SEPAGES cohort, for 450 pregnant women recruited before 19 gestational weeks in Grenoble (France), we measured 26 PFAS from non-fasting maternal serum samples (median gestational age at sampling: 19.4 weeks). Cluster-based analysis identified three PFAS exposure groups (low, moderate, high). Child growth parameters (weight, height, and head parameters) were measured at second and third trimesters (ultrasound examinations), at birth and until 3 years. Using a nonlinear mixed model, we predicted growth parameters and velocities at exactly 3 months and 3 years.

Compared to children belonging to the low PFAS exposure group, those belonging to the high exposure group had higher head circumference during the second trimester (β [95 % CI] = 3.60 [1.49 to 5.72] mm) and at 3 years (39.85 [1.62 to 78.08] mm) as well as higher estimated fetal weight during the second trimester (15.85 [1.48 to 30.21] g) and BMI growth velocity at 3 years (9.66 [1.73 to 17.59] g/m²/month). PFAS concentrations were not associated with growth parameters at third trimester, birth and 3 months.

In this prospective study, maternal serum PFAS concentrations were associated with some child growth parameters, potentially associated with increased risk of obesity in later-life.