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Environmental Contaminants and Congenital Heart Defects: Focus on PFAS, PAHs, and Other Emerging Exposures

Jenil Patel1,2, Kari Weber2,3, Ravi Upadhyay2,3

  • 1Department of Epidemiology, UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Dallas, TX, United States.

Clinical Chemistry
|December 30, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Environmental contaminants like PFAS and PAHs may increase risks for congenital heart defects (CHDs). Further research is needed to understand and mitigate these risks to fetal cardiac development.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cardiology

Background:

  • Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the leading cause of infant mortality.
  • Genetic factors explain some CHDs, but environmental exposures are increasingly implicated.
  • Critical windows of cardiac development may be vulnerable to environmental insults.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current evidence on environmental contaminants and CHDs.
  • To explore epidemiological findings and biological mechanisms.
  • To highlight the need for integrated approaches to mitigate risks.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review of epidemiological studies.
  • Analysis of biological mechanisms linking contaminants to cardiac development.
  • Discussion of exposure assessment methodologies.

Main Results:

  • Evidence suggests links between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with CHDs.
  • Biological mechanisms are being elucidated, though further research is required.
  • Exposure assessment methods are crucial for accurate risk evaluation.

Conclusions:

  • Integrated approaches are essential for understanding and mitigating environmental risks to fetal cardiac development.
  • Public health strategies should consider environmental exposures in CHD prevention.
  • Future research should focus on specific contaminants and vulnerable developmental periods.
Abstract

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