Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are synthetic chemicals that may persist in the environment and in humans. There is a possible association between early-life PFAS exposure and metabolic dysfunction in later life, but data are limited.
Methods: We studied 665 mother–child pairs in Project Viva, a Boston, Massachusetts-area cohort recruited 1999–2002. We quantified concentrations of PFASs [perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorononanoate (PFNA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), and perfluorodecanoate (PFDeA)] in maternal plasma collected at the first prenatal visit (median, 9.6 weeks gestation) and in child plasma from the mid-childhood research visit (median, 7.7 years). We assessed leptin, adiponectin, and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in mid-childhood. We fit covariate-adjusted linear regression models and conducted stratified analyses by child sex.
Results: Children with higher PFAS concentrations had lower HOMA-IR [e.g., –10.1% (95% CI: –17.3, –2.3) per interquartile range increment in PFOA]. This inverse association between child PFAS and HOMA-IR was more pronounced in females [e.g., PFOA: –15.6% (95% CI: –25.4, –4.6) vs. –6.1% (95% CI: –16.2, 5.2) for males]. Child PFAS plasma concentrations were not associated with leptin or adiponectin. Prenatal PFAS plasma concentrations were not associated with leptin, adiponectin, or HOMA-IR in offspring.
Conclusions: We found no evidence for an adverse effect of early-life PFAS exposure on metabolic function in mid-childhood. In fact, children with higher PFAS concentrations had lower insulin resistance.
1Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; 2Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; 3Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; 4Central American Institute for Studies on Toxic Substances (IRET), Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica; 5Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 6Department of Environmental Health, and 7Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; 8Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health (CERCH), School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
Recommended Citation:
Abby F. Fleisch,1 Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman,2 Ana M. Mora,et al. Early-Life Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Childhood Metabolic Function[J]. Environmental Health Perspectives,2017-01-01,Volume 125(Issue 3):481