Greater exposure to PFAS during pregnancy may lead to higher body weight later in life
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Key takeaways:
- Pregnant women exposed to higher levels of PFOS had increased weight and fat mass during long-term follow-up.
- Some types of PFAS were tied to lower body weight and fat mass later in life.
Exposure to higher amounts of some types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances during pregnancy may lead to long-term increases in body weight, waist circumference and fat mass, according to new findings.
“Three studies, to our knowledge, have assessed the association between PFAS plasma concentrations in early pregnancy with maternal postpartum adiposity,” Jordan A. Burdeau, PhD, of the department of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues wrote in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. “These studies assessed maternal adiposity at a maximum of 11 years post-index pregnancy, but the effects of PFAS during such a sensitive period may extend beyond 11 years into midlife. Furthermore, while individuals are exposed to multiple PFAS, some previous studies did not assess potential joint effects of exposure to PFAS mixtures. To address these research gaps, we estimated the associations of plasma concentrations of individual PFAS, and their mixtures, in early pregnancy with maternal adiposity in midlife.”
Researchers analyzed longitudinal data from 547 women who had a single pregnancy as part of the Project Viva prebirth cohort (mean age at enrollment, 32.5 years; 70.4% white). Concentrations of six types of PFAS were measured through plasma samples. Height-adjusted body weight, waist circumference, trunk fat mass and total body fat mass were assessed 17 to 20 years after pregnancy.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
At follow-up, the study group had a mean weight of 76.3 kg, mean waist circumference of 93.4 cm, mean trunk fat mass of 14.5 kg and mean total body fat mass of 30.5 kg.
Each doubling of PFOS concentration was associated with a 3.8 kg increase in body weight. Each doubling of 2-(N-ethyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamido) acetate level was tied to a 2.3 kg increase in body weight, a 0.7 cm increase in waist circumference, a 0.4 kg increase in trunk fat mass and a 0.6 kg increase in total body fat mass. Each doubling of perfluorononanoate (PFNA) was associated with a 1.1 cm decrease in waist circumference.
In Bayesian kernel machine regression analysis, women in the 75th percentile for PFOS level had a 7.7 kg higher body weight, a 1.2 kg higher trunk fat mass and a 3 kg higher total body fat mass than those in the 25th percentile. Women in the 75th percentile for PFNA concentration had a 6 kg lower body weight, 1.8 cm lower waist circumference, 0.8 kg lower trunk fat mass and 1.4 kg lower total body fat mass than women in the 25th percentile. Women in the 75th percentile for perfluorohexane sulfonate level had a 2 kg lower body weight, 0.8 kg lower trunk fat mass and 1.4 kg lower total body fat mass than women in the 25th percentile.
“Our study supports the idea that pregnancy may be a sensitive period of PFAS exposure as it may be associated with long-term weight gain and subsequent adverse cardiometabolic health outcomes in women,” Burdeau said in a press release. “Our findings may improve understanding of the effects of PFAS on cardiometabolic health during pregnancy, which in turn may improve early prevention or detection of adverse cardiometabolic health outcomes in women.”
The researchers wrote that more studies are needed to explore links between PFAS levels and other markers of long-term maternal cardiometabolic health.
Reference:
Pregnant women exposed to PFAS may be at risk for obesity, heart disease later in life. https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2024/pregnant-women-exposed-to-pfas-may-be-at-risk-for-obesity-heart-disease-later-in-life. Published Sept. 5, 2024. Accessed Sept. 5, 2024.
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