Serum Vaccine Antibody Concentrations in Children Exposed to Perfluorinated Compounds

Abstract

Context Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) have emerged as important food contaminants. They cause immune suppression in a rodent model at serum concentrations similar to those occurring in the US population, but adverse health effects of PFC exposure are poorly understood. Objective To determine whether PFC exposure is associated with antibody response to childhood vaccinations. Design, Setting, and Participants Prospective study of a birth cohort from the National Hospital in the Faroe Islands. A total of 656 consecutive singleton births were recruited during 1997-2000, and 587 participated in follow-up through 2008. Main Outcome Measures Serum antibody concentrations against tetanus and diphtheria toxoids at ages 5 and 7 years. Results Similar to results of prior studies in the United States, the PFCs with the highest serum concentrations were perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Among PFCs in maternal pregnancy serum, PFOS showed the strongest negative correlations with antibody concentrations at age 5 years, for which a 2-fold greater concentration of exposure was associated with a difference of −39% (95% CI, −55% to −17%) in the diphtheria antibody concentration. PFCs in the child’s serum at age 5 years showed uniformly negative associations with antibody levels, especially at age 7 years, except that the tetanus antibody level following PFOS exposure was not statistically significant. In a structural equation model, a 2-fold greater concentration of major PFCs in child serum was associated with a difference of −49% (95% CI, −67% to −23%) in the overall antibody concentration. A 2-fold increase in PFOS and PFOA concentrations at age 5 years was associated with odds ratios between 2.38 (95% CI, 0.89 to 6.35) and 4.20 (95% CI, 1.54 to 11.44) for falling below a clinically protective level of 0.1 IU/mL for tetanus and diphtheria antibodies at age 7 years. Conclusion Elevated exposures to PFCs were associated with reduced humoral immune response to routine childhood immunizations in children aged 5 and 7 years.

Association between prenatal exposure to perfluorinated compounds and symptoms of infections at age 1–4years among 359 children in the Odense Child Cohort

“…Prenatal exposure is associated with childhood exposure to PFASs as a major source of postnatal exposure is through breastfeeding. Further, previous studies have found the childhood serum-PFAS concentrations to be associated with reduced antibody concentrations after routine childhood vaccination at age 5 (Grandjean et al 2012). Thus, it would be interesting to include PFAS levels in child serum in future studies.…”

“…Also, prenatal exposures were previously found to affect vaccine responses at age 5 years, but not in older children (Grandjean et al 2012) and hospitalization rates in children up to age 11 years may have been affected by unknown postnatal exposures as well as a variety of other factors.…”

“…Among potential toxic effects, developmental PFAS exposures have been linked to lower efficiency of routine childhood immunizations (Grandjean et al 2012;Granum et al 2013).…”

Persistent organic pollutants and haematological markers in Greenlandic pregnant women: the ACCEPT sub-study

“…This may cause susceptibility for infections, preeclampsia or thrombocytopenia in the mother, and ultimately can have foetal consequences in relation to abortus habitualis, intrauterine growth retardation and preterm delivery [27,28]. Furthermore, the prenatal exposure to POPs, especially PFASs, can lead to suppressed immune responses in early childhood [7–11,29,30]. …”

Suppression of antigen-specific antibody responses in mice exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid: Role of PPARαand T- and B-cell targeting

“…These studies were among the first to evaluate the ability of PFAS to modulate immune function in humans. In one study of children from the Faroe Islands, a population that relies heavily on marine mammals contaminated with a variety of persistent organic pollutants, including PCBs and perfluorinated compounds, Grandjean et al (2012) reported that pre-natal and post-natal serum concentrations of both PFOA and PFOS were negatively associated with responses to diphtheria and tetanus vaccination in 5-7 year old children, although different patterns for the two PFASs did exist across contaminants, vaccines, and ages. In a separate study based on the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, Granum et al (2013) reported a negative association between maternal serum concentrations of PFOA and PFOS and the response to rubella immunization in 3-year-old children.…”