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. 2024 Jan:183:108340.
doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108340. Epub 2023 Nov 22.

Associations of cord plasma per- and polyfluoroakyl substances (PFAS) with neonatal and child body composition and adiposity: The GUSTO study

Ling-Wei Chen  1 , Sharon Ng  2 , Mya-Thway Tint  3 , Navin Michael  2 , Suresh Anand Sadananthan  2 , Yi Ying Ong  4 , Wen Lun Yuan  5 , Ze-Ying Chen  6 , Chia-Yang Chen  6 , Keith M Godfrey  7 , Kok Hian Tan  8 , Peter D Gluckman  9 , Yap-Seng Chong  10 , Johan G Eriksson  11 , Fabian Yap  12 , Yung Seng Lee  13 , Marielle V Fortier  14 , Sendhil S Velan  2 , Shiao-Yng Chan  15
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Free article

Associations of cord plasma per- and polyfluoroakyl substances (PFAS) with neonatal and child body composition and adiposity: The GUSTO study

Ling-Wei Chen et al. Environ Int. 2024 Jan.
Free article

Abstract

Background: The influence of prenatal exposure to per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on birth size and offspring adiposity is unclear, especially for the newer, shorter-chained replacement PFAS.

Methods: In the GUSTO multi-ethnic Singaporean mother-offspring cohort, 12 PFAS were measured in 783 cord plasma samples using ultra-performance-liquid chromatography-tandem-mass-spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS). Outcomes included offspring anthropometry, other indicators of body composition/metabolic health, and MRI-derived abdominal adiposity (subset) at birth and 6 years of age. PFAS were modeled individually, in categories of long-chain and short-chain PFAS, and as scores of three principal components (PC) derived using PC analysis (PC1, PC2, and PC3 reflect predominant exposure patterns to "very-long-PFAS", "long-PFAS", and "short-PFAS", respectively). Associations with outcomes were assessed using multivariable linear regressions, adjusted for important covariates such as maternal sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.

Results: Overall, cord PFAS levels showed either no or positive associations (mostly for long-chain PFAS) with birth weight, length and head circumference. In general, PFAS were associated with higher neonatal abdominal adiposity, driven by shorter-chain PFAS. Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) was associated with higher volumes of superficial subcutaneous adipose tissue (sSAT) (3.75 [1.13, 6.37] mL per SD increase in PFAS) and internal adipose tissue (IAT) (1.39 [0.41, 2.38] mL). Higher levels of perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), short-chain PFAS, and PC3 were associated with higher IAT volume (β range 1.22-1.41 mL/SD, all P < 0.02), especially in girls. Higher PC3 score was additionally associated with higher sSAT (3.12 [0.45, 5.80] mL) volume. At age 6 years, most observed associations did not persist. No consistent associations were observed between PFAS and whole-body adiposity measures.

Conclusions: Fetal exposure to emerging short-chain PFAS was associated with higher abdominal adiposity at birth but not at age 6 years. Further research is needed to replicate the findings and to determine if these effects may reappear beyond early childhood. Population exposure to newer PFAS and consequent health impact must be monitored.

Keywords: Abdominal adiposity; Birth size; Offspring adiposity; PFAS; Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances; Prenatal exposure.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: S.Y.C reports a relationship with Société Des Produits Nestlé S.A. that includes: funding grants, and speaking and lecture fees. K.M.G. reports a relationship with Société Des Produits Nestlé S.A. and BenevolentAI Bio Ltd that includes: funding grants and speaking and lecture fees. Y.S.C. reports a relationship with Société Des Produits Nestlé S.A. that includes: funding grants. K.M.G., Y.S.C. and S.Y.C. are part of an academic consortium that has received research funding from Société Des Produits Nestlé S.A. and BenevolentAI Bio Ltd, and are co-inventors on patents filed on nutritional factors and metabolic risk outside the submitted work. K.M.G. and S.Y.C. have received reimbursement from nutritional companies for speaking at conferences. All other authors declare that they have nothing to disclose.

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