Prenatal exposure to perfluorinated chemicals and neurodevelopment in early infancy: The Hokkaido Study

Houman Goudarzi; Sonomi Nakajima; Tamiko Ikeno; Seiko Sasaki; Sachiko Kobayashi; Chihiro Miyashita; Sachiko Ito; Atsuko Araki; Hiroyuki Nakazawa; Reiko Kishi

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.10.017

Prenatal exposure to perfluorinated chemicals and neurodevelopment in early infancy: The Hokkaido Study

Sci Total Environ. 2016 Jan 15:541:1002-1010. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.10.017. Epub 2015 Nov 11.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
² Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Sciences, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Japan.
³ Department of Public Health, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. Electronic address: rkishi@med.hokudai.ac.jp.

PMID: 26473702
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.10.017

Abstract

Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are ubiquitous and persistent pollutants widely detected in blood samples of animals and humans across the globe. Although animal studies have shown the potential neurotoxicity of PFCs, there are few epidemiological studies regarding neurological effects of PFCs in humans, and those studies have had inconclusive results. In this study, we conducted a hospital-based prospective birth cohort study between 2002 and 2005 (n=514) to examine the associations between prenatal perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) exposures and the neurodevelopment of infants at 6 (n=173) and 18 (n=133) months of age. Using the second edition of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID II), the Mental and Psychomotor Developmental Indices (MDI and PDI, respectively) were assessed. PFOS and PFOA were measured in maternal serum samples by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. After controlling for confounders, prenatal PFOA concentrations were associated with the MDI of female (but not male) infants at 6 months of age (β=-0.296; 95% confidence interval (CI): -11.96, -0.682). Furthermore, females born to mothers with prenatal concentrations of PFOA in the fourth quartile had MDI scores -5.05 (95% CI: -10.66 to 0.55) lower than females born to mothers with concentrations of PFOA in the first quartile (p for trend=0.045). However, PFOA concentrations were not significantly associated with neurodevelopmental indices at 18 months of age. In addition, we did not observe any significant association between PFOS concentrations and neurodevelopmental outcomes in early infancy. In conclusion, our results suggest that prenatal PFOA exposure may affect female mental scales of neurodevelopment at 6 months of age. Further studies with larger sample sizes and longer observation periods are required to clarify sex difference of the neurodevelopmental effects.

Keywords: Birth cohort; Infants; Neurodevelopment; Perfluorinated chemicals.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Alkanesulfonic Acids / metabolism*
Caprylates / metabolism*
Cohort Studies
Environmental Pollutants / metabolism*
Female
Fetal Blood
Fluorocarbons / metabolism*
Humans
Infant
Japan
Male
Maternal Exposure / statistics & numerical data*
Nervous System / growth & development*
Pregnancy
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / chemically induced
Prospective Studies

Substances

Alkanesulfonic Acids
Caprylates
Environmental Pollutants
Fluorocarbons
perfluorooctanoic acid
perfluorooctane sulfonic acid