Obesity (Silver Spring)

Objective To examine relationships between prenatal perfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure and adiposity in children born to women who lived downstream from a fluoropolymer manufacturing plant. Methods Data are from a prospective cohort in Cincinnati, OH (HOME Study). We measured perfluorooctanoic (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic (PFOS), perfluorononanoic (PFNA), and perfluorohexane sulfonic (PFHxS) acids in prenatal serum samples. We estimated differences in body mass index z-scores (BMI), waist circumference, and body fat at 8 years of age (n=204) and BMI between 2–8 years of age (n=285) according to PFAS concentrations. Results Children born to women in the top two PFOA terciles had greater adiposity at 8 years than children in the 1st tercile. For example, waist circumference (cm) was higher among children in the 2nd (4.3; 95% CI:1.7, 6.9) and 3rd tercile (2.2; 95% CI:−0.5, 4.9) compared to children in the 1st tercile. Children in the top two PFOA terciles also had greater BMI gains from 2–8 years compared to children in the 1st tercile (p<0.05). PFOS, PFNA and PFHxS were not associated with adiposity. Conclusions In this cohort, higher prenatal serum PFOA concentrations were associated with greater adiposity at 8 years and a more rapid increase in BMI between 2–8 years.

26554535

PMC4688224

Journal Article

CDC Public Access