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
. 2021 Jun:151:106469.
doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106469. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants and markers of obesity and cardiometabolic risk in Spanish adolescents

Nuria Güil-Oumrait  1 , Damaskini Valvi  2 , Raquel Garcia-Esteban  3 , Monica Guxens  4 , Jordi Sunyer  5 , Maties Torrent  6 , Maribel Casas  7 , Martine Vrijheid  8
Affiliations

Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants and markers of obesity and cardiometabolic risk in Spanish adolescents

Nuria Güil-Oumrait et al. Environ Int. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been linked to cardiometabolic (CM) risk factors in childhood, but there are no studies evaluating the persistence of these associations into adolescence, a period of relevant changes in endocrine-dependent organ systems and rapid increases in lean and fat mass. We examined the associations of prenatal POP exposures with body mass index (BMI) from age 4 to 18 years, and with other CM risk markers in adolescence.

Methods: We analysed 379 children from the Spanish INMA-Menorca birth cohort study with measured cord blood POP concentrations. We calculated BMI z-scores at ages 4, 6, 11, 14 and 18 years using the WHO growth reference. Body fat % was measured at 11 and 18 years and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and blood pressure (BP) at 11, 14 and 18 years. We measured CM biomarkers in fasting blood collected at age 14 years and calculated a CM-risk score as the sum of the sex-, and age-specific z-scores for waist circumference, mean arterial BP, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, fasting blood triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (n = 217). Generalised estimating equations and multivariate linear regression models assessed the associations with repeated and single time-point measures, respectively.

Results: Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) exposure in the third tertile, compared to the first tertile, was associated with higher BMI (β = 0.24; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.47) and WHtR z-score (β = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.51). A continuous increase in HCB was associated with an elevated body fat % (β per 10-fold increase = 4.21; 95% CI: 0.51, 7.92), systolic BP (β = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.64) and diastolic BP z-score (β = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.62) across all ages, and with higher CM-risk score (β = 1.59; 95% CI: 0.02, 3.18) and lipid biomarkers (total cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)) at 14 years. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT) exposure was non-monotonically associated with BMI and systolic BP. p,p'-DDE and Σ-polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (sum of congeners 118, 138, 153, 180) were not associated with adiposity or BP. p,p'-DDT exposure was associated with an increased CM-risk score, and ΣPCBs concentrations with LDL-C in all adolescents and with total cholesterol only in girls (p-sex interaction = 0.05).

Conclusion: This first longitudinal study from 4 to 18 years suggests that the previously reported POP associations with child BMI persist later in adolescence and that prenatal POP exposures are associated with major risk factors for adult CM syndrome.

Keywords: Cardiometabolic syndrome; Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p’-DDT); Endocrine disruptors; Hexachlorobenzene (HCB); Persistent organic pollutants (POPs); Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of sample populations in our study. Note: POPs, persistent organic pollutants.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Adjusted associations between prenatal cord blood concentrations of POPs and BMI z-score (A), WHtR z-score (B), Body Fat % (C), Systolic BP z-score (D), and Diastolic BP z-score (E) at each age of follow-up from 4 years until age 18 years. Generalized estimating equation models were adjusted for maternal characteristics (i.e. parity history, pre-pregnancy BMI, education, socioeconomic status, smoking, and age at pregnancy), and child’s follow up visit. Body fat % model was additionally adjusted by sex. Upper values represent the p-values of the age at follow-up interaction term.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Adjusted associations between prenatal cord blood concentrations of POPs and BMI z-score (A), WHtR z-score (B), Body Fat % (C), Systolic BP z-score (D), and Diastolic BP z-score (E) at each age of follow-up from 4 years until age 18 years. Generalized estimating equation models were adjusted for maternal characteristics (i.e. parity history, pre-pregnancy BMI, education, socioeconomic status, smoking, and age at pregnancy), and child’s follow up visit. Body fat % model was additionally adjusted by sex. Upper values represent the p-values of the age at follow-up interaction term.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Physical exercise and persistent organic pollutants.
    Liu C, Hou HS. Liu C, et al. Heliyon. 2023 Sep 1;9(9):e19661. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19661. eCollection 2023 Sep. Heliyon. 2023. PMID: 37809764 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Prenatal exposure to multiple organochlorine compounds and childhood body mass index.
    Colicino E, Margetaki K, Valvi D, Pedretti NF, Stratakis N, Vafeiadi M, Roumeliotaki T, Kyrtopoulos SA, Kiviranta H, Stephanou EG, Kogevinas M, McConnell R, Berhane KT, Chatzi L, Conti DV. Colicino E, et al. Environ Epidemiol. 2022 Apr 22;6(3):e201. doi: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000201. eCollection 2022 Jun. Environ Epidemiol. 2022. PMID: 35702503 Free PMC article.
  • Obesity II: Establishing causal links between chemical exposures and obesity.
    Heindel JJ, Howard S, Agay-Shay K, Arrebola JP, Audouze K, Babin PJ, Barouki R, Bansal A, Blanc E, Cave MC, Chatterjee S, Chevalier N, Choudhury M, Collier D, Connolly L, Coumoul X, Garruti G, Gilbertson M, Hoepner LA, Holloway AC, Howell G 3rd, Kassotis CD, Kay MK, Kim MJ, Lagadic-Gossmann D, Langouet S, Legrand A, Li Z, Le Mentec H, Lind L, Monica Lind P, Lustig RH, Martin-Chouly C, Munic Kos V, Podechard N, Roepke TA, Sargis RM, Starling A, Tomlinson CR, Touma C, Vondracek J, Vom Saal F, Blumberg B. Heindel JJ, et al. Biochem Pharmacol. 2022 May;199:115015. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2022.115015. Epub 2022 Apr 5. Biochem Pharmacol. 2022. PMID: 35395240 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Skeptical Look at the Clinical Implication of Metabolic Syndrome in Childhood Obesity.
    Wasniewska M, Pepe G, Aversa T, Bellone S, de Sanctis L, Di Bonito P, Faienza MF, Improda N, Licenziati MR, Maffeis C, Maguolo A, Patti G, Predieri B, Salerno M, Stagi S, Street ME, Valerio G, Corica D, Calcaterra V. Wasniewska M, et al. Children (Basel). 2023 Apr 17;10(4):735. doi: 10.3390/children10040735. Children (Basel). 2023. PMID: 37189984 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals' Effects in Children: What We Know and What We Need to Learn?
    Predieri B, Iughetti L, Bernasconi S, Street ME. Predieri B, et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Oct 7;23(19):11899. doi: 10.3390/ijms231911899. Int J Mol Sci. 2022. PMID: 36233201 Free PMC article. Review.
See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Agay-Shay K., Martinez D., Valvi D., Garcia-Esteban R., Basagaña X., Robinson O., Casas M., Sunyer J., Vrijheid M. Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals during Pregnancy and Weight at 7 Years of Age: A Multi-pollutant Approach. Environ. Health Perspect. 2015;123(10):1030–1037. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1409049. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arrebola J.P., Fernández M.F., Martin-Olmedo P., Bonde J.P., Martín-Rodriguez J.L., Expósito J., Rubio-Domínguez A., Olea N. Historical exposure to persistent organic pollutants and risk of incident hypertension. Environ. Res. 2015;138:217–223. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2015.02.018. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ashwell, M., Gunn, P., Gibson, S., 2012. Waist-to-height ratio is a better screening tool than waist circumference and BMI for adult cardiometabolic risk factors: systematic review and meta-analysis: Waist-to-height ratio as a screening tool. Obes. Rev. 13, 275–286. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2011.00952.x. - PubMed
    1. Atabek, M.E., Pirgon, O., 2007. Assessment of Insulin Sensitivity from Measurements in Fasting State and During an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test in Obese Children. J. Pediatr. Endocrinol. Metab. 20. https://doi.org/10.1515/JPEM.2007.20.2.187. - PubMed
    1. Baccarelli A., Pfeiffer R., Consonni D., Pesatori A.C., Bonzini M., Patterson D.G., Jr., Bertazzi P.A., Landi M.T. Handling of dioxin measurement data in the presence of non-detectable values: Overview of available methods and their application in the Seveso chloracne study. Chemosphere. 2005;60(7):898–906. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2005.01.055. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources