Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018;90(2):116-122.
doi: 10.1159/000492236. Epub 2018 Sep 13.

Prenatal Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants and Anogenital Distance in Children at 18 Months

Miguel García-Villarino  1   2 , Isolina Riaño-Galán  1   3 , Ana Cristina Rodriguez-Dehli  4 , Esther Vizcaíno  5 , Joan O Grimalt  5 , Adonina Tardón  1   2 , Ana Fernández-Somoano  1   2
Affiliations

Prenatal Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants and Anogenital Distance in Children at 18 Months

Miguel García-Villarino et al. Horm Res Paediatr. 2018.

Abstract

Background: Anogenital distance (AGD) is a measure of in utero exposure to hormonally active agents. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and AGD.

Methods: POP levels were measured in pregnant women, and the AGD was recorded in 43 offspring at 18 months. We used linear regression models to analyze the association between maternal POP exposure and offspring AGD. We defined the anogenital index (AGI) as AGD divided by weight at 18 months (AGI = AGD / weight at 18 months [mm/kg]) and included this variable in the regression models.

Results: AGI measure was 2.35 (0.61) and 1.38 (0.45) in males and females, respectively. AGI was inversely associated with lipid-adjusted concentrations of PBDE-99 (β = -0.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.51, -0.04) and PBDE-153 (β = -0.61, 95% CI: -1.11, -0.11) in males. We did not find any statistically significant relationship between any POPs and AGI in females.

Conclusions: Environmental exposure to POPs may affect genital development and result in reproductive tract alterations with potentially relevant health consequences in maturity.

Keywords: Anogenital distance; Children; Endocrine disruption; Environmental contaminants; Persistent organic pollutants.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
AGI (mm/kg) by children's age at examination.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Vizcaino E, Grimalt JO, Lopez-Espinosa MJ, Llop S, Rebagliato M, Ballester F. Maternal origin and other determinants of cord serum organochlorine compound concentrations in infants from the general population. Environ Sci Technol. 2010 Aug;44((16)):6488–95. - PubMed
    1. SCOPS Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) 2009. 2017 Available from: http://chm.pops.int/TheConvention/ThePOPs/AllPOPs/tabid/2509/Default.aspx.
    1. Carrizo D, Grimalt JO, Ribas-Fito N, Sunyer J, Torrent M. Physical-chemical and maternal determinants of the accumulation of organochlorine compounds in four-year-old children. Environ Sci Technol. 2006 Mar;40((5)):1420–6. - PubMed
    1. Simonich SL, Hites RA. Global Distribution of Persistent Organochlorine Compounds. Science. 1995;269:1851–1854. - PubMed
    1. Vizcaino E, Grimalt JO, Fernández-Somoano A, Tardon A. Transport of persistent organic pollutants across the human placenta. Environ Int. 2014 Apr;65:107–15. - PubMed

MeSH terms