Fetal exposure to phthalates and bisphenols and DNA methylation at birth: the Generation R Study

Abstract

Background Phthalates and bisphenols are non-persistent endocrine disrupting chemicals that are ubiquitously present in our environment and may have long-lasting health effects following fetal exposure. A potential mechanism underlying these exposure–outcome relationships is differential DNA methylation. Our objective was to examine the associations of maternal phthalate and bisphenol concentrations during pregnancy with DNA methylation in cord blood using a chemical mixtures approach. Methods This study was embedded in a prospective birth cohort study in the Netherlands and included 306 participants. We measured urine phthalates and bisphenols concentrations in the first, second and third trimester. Cord blood DNA methylation in their children was processed using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip using an epigenome-wide association approach. Using quantile g-computation, we examined the association of increasing all mixture components by one quartile with cord blood DNA methylation. Results We did not find evidence for statistically significant associations of a maternal mixture of phthalates and bisphenols during any of the trimesters of pregnancy with DNA methylation in cord blood (all p values > 4.01 * 10–8). However, we identified one suggestive association (p value < 1.0 * 10–6) of the first trimester maternal mixture of phthalates and bisphenols and three suggestive associations of the second trimester maternal mixture of phthalates and bisphenols with DNA methylation in cord blood. Conclusions Although we did not identify genome-wide significant results, we identified some suggestive associations of exposure to a maternal mixture of phthalates and bisphenols in the first and second trimester with DNA methylation in cord blood that need further exploration in larger study samples.

Imprinting and Reproductive Health: A Toxicological Perspective

“…Researchers have also studied the association between phthalates, heavy metals, and other EDCs' exposure and DNA methylation patterns in various studies. While the results are not uniform across all studies, there is evidence suggesting a potential link between EDC exposure and altered methylation [115][116][117][118][119].…”

Methylation of serotonin regulating genes in cord blood cells: association with maternal metabolic parameters and correlation with methylation in peripheral blood cells during childhood and adolescence

“…We must also acknowledge limitations of our study. First, we did not measure certain factors that have been associated with methylation of specific loci in cord blood cells and, therefore, could potentially influence our results, such as maternal exposure to environmental endocrine disruptors [ 68 ] and green space [ 40 ] during pregnancy or maternal adverse childhood experiences [ 69 ]. We excluded women with clinical depression, but attention should be also paid to maternal depressed mood during pregnancy [ 39 ].…”

Gestational exposure to environmental chemicals and epigenetic alterations in the placenta and cord blood mononuclear cells

“…PAHs, phthalates, and phenols, exhibit endocrine-disrupting properties by mimicking or altering the synthesis/metabolism/transport/action/excretion of hormones (thyroid, insulin, estrogen, androgens), which in turn could disrupt hormonal physiology related to epigenetic pathways [ 9 , 15 , 16 ]. Several studies evaluated the associations between gestational exposure to phthalates, phenols, and cord blood global methylation, suggesting inconsistent patterns in CpG-specific associations [ 17 – 22 ].…”