Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals during pregnancy and weight at 7 years of age: a multi-pollutant approach
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may induce weight gain and obesity in children, but the obesogenic effects of mixtures have not been studied. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the associations between pre- and perinatal biomarker concentrations of 27 EDCs and child weight status at 7 years of age. METHODS: In pregnant women enrolled in a Spanish birth cohort study between 2004 and 2006, we measured the concentrations of 10 phthalate metabolites, bisphenol A, cadmium, arsenic, and lead in two maternal pregnancy urine samples; 6 organochlorine compounds in maternal pregnancy serum; mercury in cord blood; and 6 polybrominated diphenyl ether congeners in colostrum. Among 470 children at 7 years, body mass index (BMI) z-scores were calculated, and overweight was defined as BMI > 85th percentile. We estimated associations with EDCs in single-pollutant models and applied principal-component analysis (PCA) on the 27 pollutant concentrations. RESULTS: In single-pollutant models, HCB (hexachlorobenzene), betaHCH (beta-hexachlorocyclohexane), and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners 138 and 180 were associated with increased child BMI z-scores; and HCB, betaHCH, PCB-138, and DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) with overweight risk. PCA generated four factors that accounted for 43.4% of the total variance. The organochlorine factor was positively associated with BMI z-scores and with overweight (adjusted RR, tertile 3 vs. 1: 2.59; 95% CI: 1.19, 5.63), and these associations were robust to adjustment for other EDCs. Exposure in the second tertile of the phthalate factor was inversely associated with overweight. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to organochlorines was positively associated with overweight at age 7 years in our study population. Other EDCs exposures did not confound this association.
Date Issued
2015-10-01
Date Acceptance
2015-05-06
Citation
Environmental Health Perspectives, 2015, 123 (10), pp.1030-1037
ISSN
0091-6765
Publisher
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Start Page
1030
End Page
1037
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Health Perspectives
Volume
123
Issue
10
Copyright Statement
Agay-Shay K, Martinez D, Valvi D, Garcia-Esteban R, Basagaña X, Robinson O, Casas M, Sunyer J, Vrijheid M. 2015. Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals during pregnancy and weight at 7 years of age: a multi-pollutant approach. Environ Health Perspect 123:1030–1037; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409049. Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives.
Subjects
Adolescent Adult Blood Pressure/*drug effects *Body Mass Index Body Weight/*drug effects Child Cohort Studies Endocrine Disruptors/blood/metabolism/*toxicity/urine Environmental Pollutants/blood/metabolism/*toxicity/urine Female Humans Male Pregnancy Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/chemically induced/*epidemiology Spain/epidemiology *Waist-Height Ratio Young Adult
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2015-05-08