Paternal and maternal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and birth outcomes: a multi-country cohort study
Abstract Background Maternal prenatal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been linked to adverse birth outcomes. However, few investigations have considered paternal PFAS exposure. We estimated the parent-specific associations of prenatal PFAS exposures with adverse birth ou...
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2025-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01199-y |
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| author | Pengfei Guo Jiajun Luo Jie Zhang Jens Peter Bonde Paweł Struciński Viktor Ohniev Onyebuchi A. Arah Nicole C. Deziel Joshua L. Warren Gunnar Toft Zeyan Liew |
| author_facet | Pengfei Guo Jiajun Luo Jie Zhang Jens Peter Bonde Paweł Struciński Viktor Ohniev Onyebuchi A. Arah Nicole C. Deziel Joshua L. Warren Gunnar Toft Zeyan Liew |
| author_sort | Pengfei Guo |
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| description | Abstract Background Maternal prenatal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been linked to adverse birth outcomes. However, few investigations have considered paternal PFAS exposure. We estimated the parent-specific associations of prenatal PFAS exposures with adverse birth outcomes. Methods This study included 498 couples from the INUENDO cohort recruited at antenatal care visits in Greenland, Poland, and Ukraine during 2002–2004. We measured five major types of PFAS in parental serum during pregnancy. We analyzed three birth outcomes ascertained from medical records, including gestational age, birth weight, and birth length. We used weighted least squares linear regression to evaluate parent-specific associations of serum PFAS with the birth outcomes, adjusting for parental co-exposures and covariates. We also used quantile g-computation for mixture modeling of the birth outcomes of paternal and/or maternal exposures to multiple PFAS. Results No associations were found between maternal and paternal PFAS exposures and gestational age. However, after adjusting for paternal PFOA, a higher level of maternal serum perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) was linked to a tendency towards lower birth weight and shorter birth length. Paternal exposure to several PFAS was also associated with a tendency for shorter birth length, but the estimated effect sizes were small. We found no joint exposure effects in the mixture analyses. Conclusions While the evidence was inconclusive, maternal PFOA and paternal PFAS exposures seemed to be associated with lower offspring birth weight and shorter birth length, respectively. Parent-specific effects of PFAS exposures on offspring growth and development warrant further research. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9905307a10bc4b09aaf58df2fe3d96dd |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | Environmental Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-9905307a10bc4b09aaf58df2fe3d96dd2025-08-20T03:42:52ZengBMCEnvironmental Health1476-069X2025-07-0124111010.1186/s12940-025-01199-yPaternal and maternal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and birth outcomes: a multi-country cohort studyPengfei Guo0Jiajun Luo1Jie Zhang2Jens Peter Bonde3Paweł Struciński4Viktor Ohniev5Onyebuchi A. Arah6Nicole C. Deziel7Joshua L. Warren8Gunnar Toft9Zeyan Liew10Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public HealthDepartment of Surgery, Biological Sciences Division, University of ChicagoSteno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University HospitalDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg University HospitalDepartment of Toxicology and Health Risk Assessment, National Institute of Public Health, NIH - National Research InstituteDepartment of Public Health and Healthcare Management, Kharkiv National Medical UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public HealthYale Center for Perinatal, Pediatric, and Environmental Epidemiology, Yale School of Public HealthSteno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University HospitalDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public HealthAbstract Background Maternal prenatal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been linked to adverse birth outcomes. However, few investigations have considered paternal PFAS exposure. We estimated the parent-specific associations of prenatal PFAS exposures with adverse birth outcomes. Methods This study included 498 couples from the INUENDO cohort recruited at antenatal care visits in Greenland, Poland, and Ukraine during 2002–2004. We measured five major types of PFAS in parental serum during pregnancy. We analyzed three birth outcomes ascertained from medical records, including gestational age, birth weight, and birth length. We used weighted least squares linear regression to evaluate parent-specific associations of serum PFAS with the birth outcomes, adjusting for parental co-exposures and covariates. We also used quantile g-computation for mixture modeling of the birth outcomes of paternal and/or maternal exposures to multiple PFAS. Results No associations were found between maternal and paternal PFAS exposures and gestational age. However, after adjusting for paternal PFOA, a higher level of maternal serum perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) was linked to a tendency towards lower birth weight and shorter birth length. Paternal exposure to several PFAS was also associated with a tendency for shorter birth length, but the estimated effect sizes were small. We found no joint exposure effects in the mixture analyses. Conclusions While the evidence was inconclusive, maternal PFOA and paternal PFAS exposures seemed to be associated with lower offspring birth weight and shorter birth length, respectively. Parent-specific effects of PFAS exposures on offspring growth and development warrant further research.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01199-yEnvironmental pollutantsEndocrine disruptorsPFASPaternal exposurePregnancyBirth outcome |
| spellingShingle | Pengfei Guo Jiajun Luo Jie Zhang Jens Peter Bonde Paweł Struciński Viktor Ohniev Onyebuchi A. Arah Nicole C. Deziel Joshua L. Warren Gunnar Toft Zeyan Liew Paternal and maternal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and birth outcomes: a multi-country cohort study Environmental Health Environmental pollutants Endocrine disruptors PFAS Paternal exposure Pregnancy Birth outcome |
| title | Paternal and maternal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and birth outcomes: a multi-country cohort study |
| title_full | Paternal and maternal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and birth outcomes: a multi-country cohort study |
| title_fullStr | Paternal and maternal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and birth outcomes: a multi-country cohort study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Paternal and maternal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and birth outcomes: a multi-country cohort study |
| title_short | Paternal and maternal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and birth outcomes: a multi-country cohort study |
| title_sort | paternal and maternal exposures to per and polyfluoroalkyl substances pfas and birth outcomes a multi country cohort study |
| topic | Environmental pollutants Endocrine disruptors PFAS Paternal exposure Pregnancy Birth outcome |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01199-y |
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