Perfluorinated Chemicals and Fetal Growth: A Study within the Danish National Birth Cohort

Abstract

BackgroundPerfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are man-made, persistent organic pollutants widely spread throughout the environment and human populations. They have been found to interfere with fetal growth in some animal models, but whether a similar effect is seen in humans is uncertain.ObjectivesWe investigated the association between plasma levels of PFOS and PFOA in pregnant women and their infants’ birth weight and length of gestation.MethodsWe randomly selected 1,400 women and their infants from the Danish National Birth Cohort among those who completed all four computer-assisted telephone interviews, provided the first blood samples between gestational weeks 4 and 14, and who gave birth to a single live-born child without congenital malformation. PFOS and PFOA were measured by high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometer.ResultsPFOS and PFOA levels in maternal plasma were on average 35.3 and 5.6 ng/mL, respectively. Only PFOA levels were inversely associated with birth weight (adjusted β = −10.63 g; 95% confidence interval, −20.79 to −0.47 g). Neither maternal PFOS nor PFOA levels were consistently associated with the risk for preterm birth or low birth weight. We observed no adverse effects for maternal PFOS or PFOA levels on small for gestational age.ConclusionOur nationwide cohort data suggest an inverse association between maternal plasma PFOA levels and birth weight. Because of widespread exposure to these chemicals, our findings may be of potential public health concern.

Determinants of maternal and fetal exposure and temporal trends of perfluorinated compounds

“…PFCs have been shown to cross the placenta (Inoue et al 2004;Liu et al 2011;Gützkow et al 2012) and thus have a potential to exert a direct influence on the developing fetus (Apelberg et al 2007a;Fei et al 2007). According to previous studies, the median PFC concentrations in cord blood ranged from 30 to 130% of the maternal concentrations (Liu et al, 2011, Kim et al 2011a, Gützkow et al 2012).…”

“…The potential determinants of maternal and fetal exposure to PFCs are poorly investigated and their potential to affect the concentrations of PFCs in pregnant women and fetuses is still unclear. Some studies have shown that PFOS levels are higher in black women than in white and Asian women (Apelberg et al 2007b) and are also higher in nonsmokers than smokers (Fei et al 2007;Washino et al 2009). The PFOA levels decrease with increasing maternal age (Washino et al 2009), BMI (Fei et al 2007), and parity (Fei et 4 al.…”

Contamination profiles of perfluoroalkyl substances in five typical rivers of the Pearl River Delta region, South China

“…PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are typical representative chemicals for PFSAs and PFCAs. Because of the high energy carbon-fluorine covalent bond, PFCAs and PFSAs are persistent against the typical environmental degradation processes, and longer chain PFCAs and PFSAs are bio-accumulative (Martin et al, 2003) and have potential adverse effects on humans and animals (Kudo and Kawashima, 2003;Fei et al, 2007). As a result, PFOS and its salts together with its precursor, perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (POSF), were listed to Annex B of the Stockholm Convention in 2009, calling for restricted production and use worldwide (UNEP, 2009).…”

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances: current and future perspectives

“…[53] Maternal blood concentrations of PFOA, but not PFOS, were negatively associated with birthweight in newborns from Denmark. [54] A further study reported a statistically significant negative correlation between abdominal circumference and maternal PFOA, a statistically significant positive association between ponderal index to maternal PFOA of women who were obese before pregnancy, and a statistically non-significant negative correlation between head circumference and maternal PFOA. [54] These findings suggested that PFOS and PFOA may affect the growth of organs and skeleton in infants and can have adverse effects on overall fetal growth and neonatal development.…”

“…[54] A further study reported a statistically significant negative correlation between abdominal circumference and maternal PFOA, a statistically significant positive association between ponderal index to maternal PFOA of women who were obese before pregnancy, and a statistically non-significant negative correlation between head circumference and maternal PFOA. [54] These findings suggested that PFOS and PFOA may affect the growth of organs and skeleton in infants and can have adverse effects on overall fetal growth and neonatal development. However, the literature results are inconsistent, suggesting the influence of several confounding factors, which need to be carefully controlled for, in epidemiological data analysis and interpretation.…”