Early-life exposures to persistent organic pollutants in relation to overweight in preschool children

Abstract

Current knowledge on obesogenic effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is equivocal. We therefore evaluated the associations between early-life POP exposures and body mass index (BMI) in 444 Faroese children born in 2007–2009. POPs were measured in maternal 2-week postpartum serum and child age-5 serum. Linear regression and generalised linear models assessed the associations with continuous and dichotomous BMI z-scores, respectively, at ages 18 months and/or 5 years. Maternal serum concentrations of HCB, PFOS and PFOA were associated with increased BMI z-scores and/or overweight risk (i.e. BMI z-score≥ 85th WHO percentile). No clear association was found for maternal serum-PCBs, p,p’-DDE, PFHxS, PFNA and PFDA. In cross-sectional analyses, we observed a pattern of inverse associations between child serum-POPs and BMI z-scores at age 5, perhaps due to reverse causation that requires attention in future prospective analyses. Findings in this recent cohort support a role of maternal exposure to endocrine disruptors in the childhood obesity epidemic.

Gestational diabetes and offspring birth size at elevated environmental pollutant exposures

“…Maternal serum concentrations of OCs in this cohort are higher than those reported in a more recent Faroese cohort (Karlsen et al 2016) and in recent pregnancy cohorts in Canada and Europe (Casas et al 2015; Shapiro et al 2016; Vafeiadi et al 2014). The maternal serum concentrations of PFASs are comparable to those reported in Europe and North America though the mixture profiles vary among populations (Casas et al 2015; Shapiro et al 2016; Zhang et al 2015).…”

“…This may be due to reduced power and/or the higher PCB exposures in this population compared to others, as non-monotonic dose-response relationships for endocrine disruptors are likely (Vandenberg et al 2012). However, maternal PCB and DDE concentrations have been associated with higher offspring BMI later in childhood in this (Tang-Peronard et al 2014) and other birth cohorts (Karlsen et al 2016; Valvi et al 2012 and 2014). Associations between maternal OC exposures and offspring head circumference have been studied at a lesser extent, with our findings and those of one previous study (de Cock et al 2014) suggesting a positive association between maternal DDE exposure and offspring head circumference, whereas other studies have reported decreases in head circumference associated with higher maternal concentrations of DDT (Lopez-Espinosa et al 2011), DDE and PCBs (Vafeiadi et al 2014).…”

“…Using a multiple-pollutant approach, we found a similar trend toward reduced average birth weight (∼150 g) for a doubling of PFAS exposures, as for maternal smoking during pregnancy which is a well-known risk factor for adverse metabolic outcomes in the offspring (Bakker and Jaddoe 2011; Joubert et al 2016; Oken et al 2008) and effect estimates for the overall PFAS exposure did not significantly differ between boys and girls. Lower birth weight is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in later life (Whincup et al 2008), and maternal PFAS exposures have been associated with adverse metabolic outcomes in children (Hoyer et al 2015; Karlsen et al 2016; Tang-Peronard et al 2014) and adults (Halldorsson et al 2012). Thus, our findings suggest that even if associations between exposure to one single PFAS and birth weight may appear as small or insignificant, the association of PFAS exposure overall could be of clinical relevance and predict long-term adverse health outcomes.…”

Maternal and early‐life area‐level characteristics and childhood adiposity: A systematic review

“…Mothers exchange ingested and inhaled pollutants with offspring via placental transfer, which affects fetal and infant development. 17 Gestational exposure to organic pollutants from indoor and outdoor sources has been shown to lead to elevated insulin and leptin levels, in addition to impaired glucose tolerance in rats, factors that affect the storage and expenditure of energy and therefore the risk of becoming affected by obesity. 18 The diversity of maternal gut bacteria (the "microbiome") affects nutrition exchange and the composition of the offspring microbiome at birth.…”

Er miljøgifter i norsk kosthold skadelig for barn?

“…Eksponering for hormonhermere er blitt knyttet til overvektsepidemien, som også rammer barn og unge. Flere studier viser en sammenheng mellom maternelt nivå av ulike hormonhermere og risiko for senere overvekt hos barnet (16,17). Det er beregnet at utviklingen av fedme og diabetes på grunn av hormonhermere med moderat sannsynlighet vil koste EU over 18 milliarder euro per år (18).…”