Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and cord plasma lipid concentrations

The effect of prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on lipid concentrations in newborns is unknown. Using data from the Shanghai-Minhang Birth Cohort Study, we prospectively assessed the health effects of prenatal exposure to individual and multiple PFAS on cord lipid concentrations. Maternal plasma samples collected at 12–16 weeks of gestation were analyzed for eleven PFAS, and cord blood samples were analyzed for lipids: total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). We used multiple linear regression models to evaluate the associations of each individual PFAS with each lipid parameter, and used Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) models to assess the overall and single-exposure effects of eight PFAS with the detection rate above 80% on cord lipid concentrations. In multiple linear regression models, for each unit increase in ln-transformed maternal concentrations of perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUdA), and perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA), ln-transformed TC concentration decreased by 0.15 mg/dL (95% confidence interval (CI): −0.25, −0.05), 0.12 mg/dL (95% CI: −0.19, −0.05), 0.12 mg/dL (95% CI: −0.19, −0.05), and 0.05 mg/dL (95% CI: −0.09, −0.01), respectively, and ln-transformed HDL-C concentration decreased by 0.17 mg/dL (95% CI: −0.29, −0.05), 0.12 mg/dL (95% CI: −0.20, −0.03), 0.12 mg/dL (95% CI: −0.20, −0.03), and 0.06 mg/dL (95% CI: −0.11, −0.00), respectively. Statistically significant inverse associations were also observed between ln-transformed concentrations of PFDA, PFUdA, or PFTrDA and ln-transformed cord concentrations of TG and LDL-C. In BKMR models, the mixture of eight PFAS showed suggestively inverse association with all ln-transformed lipid concentrations, such that ln-transformed TC concentration of exposure to the 75th percentile of the mixture was 0.11 units (95% credible interval, −0.21, −0.01) lower than the 25th percentile exposure. Our findings indicated that prenatal exposure to PFAS may disrupt lipid metabolism in newborns.