Effect of perfluoroalkyl exposure in pregnancy and infancy on intrauterine and childhood growth and anthropometry. Sub study from COPSAC2010 birth cohort

• Background Perfluoroalkyl substances PFOS and PFOA are persistent and bioaccumulative exogenous chemicals in the human body with a range of suspected negative health effects. It is hypothesised that exposure during prenatal and early postnatal life might have particularly detrimental effects on intrauterine and childhood growth. In a Dan-ish longitudinal mother-child cohort we investigate effect of PFOS and PFOA in pregnancy and infancy on intrauter-ine and childhood growth and anthropometry.Methods COPSAC2010 is an ongoing population based mother-child cohort of 738 pregnant women and their children followed from 24 week gestation with longitudinal deep clinical phenotyping until age 10 years. In this observational cohort sub study plasma PFOS and PFOA concentrations were semi-quantified by untargeted metabolomics in the mothers at week 24 and 1 week postpartum and in the children at ages 6 and 18 months and calibrated using a targeted pipe-line. We examined associations to intrauterine and childhood growth and anthropometry, including interactions with child sex. Untargeted and targeted blood metabolomics profiles were integrated to investigate underlying mechanisms.Findings Pregnancy plasma PFOA concentrations were associated with lower birth size -0.19 [-0.33; -0.05] BMI z-score per 1-ng/mL and increased childhood height (z-scored) at age 6: 0.18 [0.05; 0.31], but there was no association between childs' own infancy plasma PFOA concentration and height. Pregnancy plasma PFOS concentrations were also associated with lower birth BMI (-0.04 [-0.08; -0.01]), but in childhood pregnancy plasma PFOS con-centration interacted with child sex on BMI and fat percentage at 6 years with negative associations in girls and positive in boys. The effect of maternal plasma PFOS concentration on lower girl BMI was borderline mediated through increasing child plasma lactosyl-ceramide levels (p-mediation=0.08). Similarly the effect of maternal plasma PFOS concentration on higher boy fat percentage was borderline mediated through increasing child plasma lactosyl-ceramide levels (p-mediation=0.07). Infancy concentrations of plasma PFOS associated with lower height in childhood, -0.06 z-score at age 6 [-0.19; -0.03].Interpretation Higher PFOS and PFOA plasma concentrations during pregnancy had detrimental effects on fetal growth. The effects on childhood growth were not similar as PFOA increased child height, opposite of PFOS in mul-tipollutant models suggesting a differing fetal programming effect. Sex specific growth effects were borderline medi-ated through an altered lactosyl-ceramide metabolism, proposing a possible mechanism of PFOS that has long-lasting health consequences in this observational study.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Reproduktionsmedicin och gynekologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

MeSH

PFOS

PFOA

Metabolomics

Xenobiotics

Child

Mother-child cohort

BMI

Growth

Lactocyl Ceramides

Molecular epidemiology

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