Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their influence on inflammatory biomarkers in pregnancy: Findings from the LIFECODES cohort.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are fluorinated chemicals linked to adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. However, the underlying mechanisms, specifically their effects on maternal inflammatory processes, are not well characterized.

Objective: We examined associations between prenatal PFAS exposure and repeated measures of inflammatory biomarkers, including C-reactive protein (CRP) and four cytokines [Interleukin-10 (IL-10), IL-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)].

Gestational organophosphate pesticide exposure and childhood cardiovascular outcomes.

Introduction: The general population is chronically exposed to organophosphate pesticides through various routes including ingestion, hand-to-mouth contact, inhalation, and dermal contact. Exposure to organophosphate pesticides during pregnancy impairs fetal development, but the potential long-term effects of gestational organophosphate pesticide exposure are less well understood.

Methods: We investigated associations between gestational organophosphate pesticide exposure and cardiovascular outcomes in 643 children in the Generation R Study, a prospective pregnancy cohort based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Exposure to organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers and associations with preeclampsia and blood pressure in pregnancy.

Background: Organophosphate esters (OPEs), flame retardants and plasticizers found widely in consumer products, may impact vascularization processes in pregnancy. Yet, the association between maternal exposure to OPEs and both preeclampsia and blood pressure during pregnancy remains understudied.

Methods: Within the LIFECODES Fetal Growth Study (N = 900), we quantified 8 OPE metabolites from maternal urine collected at up to 3 time points during pregnancy and created within-subject geometric means.

Longitudinal associations between urinary biomarkers of phthalates and replacements with novel in vivo measures of placental health.

Study Question: What is the longitudinal association between gestational phthalate exposure and in vivo placental outcomes?

Summary Answer: Phthalates were adversely associated with placental microvasculature, stiffness, and presence of calcification, with different metabolites associated with different outcomes.

What Is Known Already: Phthalate exposure is ubiquitous and implicated as a contributor to adverse pregnancy outcomes, possibly through impacts on the placenta.

Study Design, Size, Duration: A total of 303 women were recruited in early pregnancy and prospectively followed for up to eight visits across gestation in the Human Placenta and Phthalates study.

Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants and Plasticizers in Relation to Fetal Growth in the LIFECODES Fetal Growth Study.

Background: Organophosphate esters (OPEs), used ubiquitously as flame retardants and plasticizers in consumer products, are suspected of having developmental toxicity.

Objectives: Our study aimed to estimate associations between prenatal exposure to OPEs and fetal growth, including both ultrasound (head circumference, abdominal circumference, femur length, and estimated fetal weight) and delivery [birth weight -score, small-for-gestational age (SGA), and large-for-gestational age (LGA)] measures of growth.

Methods: In the LIFECODES Fetal Growth Study (2008-2018), an enriched case-cohort of 900 babies born at the small and large ends of the growth spectrum, we quantified OPE biomarkers in three urine samples per pregnant participant and abstracted ultrasound and delivery measures of fetal growth from medical records.

Associations of urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites and their mixture with thyroid hormone concentration during pregnancy in the LIFECODES cohort: A repeated measures study.

Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are endocrine disruptors resulting from incomplete combustion. Pregnancy represents a particularly vulnerable period to such exposures, given the significant influence of hormone physiology on fetal growth and pregnancy outcomes. Maternal thyroid hormones play crucial roles in fetal development and pregnancy outcomes.

Environmental Phenols and Growth in Infancy: The Infant Feeding and Early Development Study.

Context: Higher mean and rapid increases in body mass index (BMI) during infancy are associated with subsequent obesity and may be influenced by exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as phenols.

Objective: In a prospective US-based cohort conducted 2010-2014, we investigated associations between environmental phenol exposures and BMI in 199 infants.

Methods: We measured 7 urinary phenols at ages 6-8 and 12 weeks and assessed BMI z-score at up to 12 study visits between birth and 36 weeks.

Environmental phenol exposures in 6- to 12-week-old infants: The Infant Feeding and Early Development (IFED) study.

Background: Exposure to phenols, endocrine-disrupting chemicals used in personal care and consumer products, is widespread. Data on infant exposures are limited despite heightened sensitivity to endocrine disruption during this developmental period. We aimed to describe distributions and predictors of urinary phenol concentrations among U.

Personal care product use patterns in association with phthalate and replacement biomarkers across pregnancy.

Background: Humans are exposed to phthalates, a class of non-persistent chemicals, through multiple products, including personal care and cosmetics. Associations between specific phthalates and product use have been inconsistent. However, determining these connections could provide avenues for exposure reduction.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Phthalate Exposure and Preterm Birth: A Pooled Study of Sixteen U.S. Cohorts.

Background: Phthalate exposures are ubiquitous during pregnancy and may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in preterm birth.

Objectives: We investigated race and ethnicity in the relationship between biomarkers of phthalate exposure and preterm birth by examining: ) how hypothetical reductions in racial and ethnic disparities in phthalate metabolites might reduce the probability of preterm birth; and ) exposure-response models stratified by race and ethnicity.

Methods: We pooled individual-level data on 6,045 pregnancies from 16 U.

Prenatal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure in relation to preterm birth subtypes and size-for-gestational age in the LIFECODES cohort 2006-2008.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals widely used in consumer and industrial products. Numerous studies have linked prenatal PFAS exposures to increased risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth (PTB) and small-for-gestational age (SGA).However, limited evidence is available for the effects of PFAS on PTB subtypes and large-for-gestational age (LGA).

Midpregnancy Phthalate and Phenol Biomarkers in Relation to Infant Body Composition: The Healthy Start Prospective Cohort.

Background: Gestational phthalate and phenol exposure disrupts adipogenesis, contributing to obesity in mice. Whether gestational phthalate or phenol exposure is associated with infant body composition has not been investigated in humans.

Objective: We examined associations between biomarkers of phthalate and phenol exposure in midpregnancy and infant size and body composition at birth and at 5 months of age.

Variability and Longitudinal Trajectories of Phthalate and Replacement Biomarkers across Pregnancy in the Human Placenta and Phthalates Study.

Human exposure to phthalates is widespread, but assessment of variability across pregnancy has been hampered by short half-lives of phthalate biomarkers and a few repeated measures in prior studies. We aimed to characterize the variability and longitudinal profiles of phthalate and replacement biomarkers across pregnancy. Within the Human Placenta and Phthalates Study, 303 pregnant women provided urine samples at up to 8 visits across gestation.

Fetal Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and Child Adiposity Measures at 10 Years of Age in the General Dutch Population.

Background: Fetal exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides might lead to fetal metabolic adaptations, predisposing individuals to adverse metabolic profiles in later life.

Objective: We examined the association of maternal urinary OP pesticide metabolite concentrations in pregnancy with offspring body mass index (BMI) and fat measures at 10 years of age.

Methods: Between 2002 and 2006, we included 642 mother-child pairs from the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Maternal exposure to phthalates and total gestational weight gain in the LIFECODES birth cohort.

Excessive gestational weight gain contributes to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Environmental exposures such as phthalates may lead to metabolic dysregulation, and studies suggest possible associations between maternal phthalate exposure and altered gestational weight gain. We assessed the association between nine maternal phthalate metabolites and measures of total gestational weight gain (pre-pregnancy to median 35.

Urinary oxidative stress biomarkers are associated with preterm birth: an Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes program study.

Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Elevated levels of oxidative stress have been associated with an increased risk of delivering before term. However, most studies testing this hypothesis have been conducted in racially and demographically homogenous study populations, which do not reflect the diversity within the United States.

Fetal growth trajectories of babies born large-for-gestational age in the LIFECODES Fetal Growth Study.

Background: Babies born large-for-gestational age have an increased risk of adverse health outcomes, including birth injuries, childhood obesity, and cardiometabolic disorders. However, little work has been done to characterize patterns of fetal growth among large-for-gestational age births, which may further elucidate high- and low-risk subgroups.

Objective: This study aimed to identify subgroups of large-for-gestational age births based on trajectories of fetal growth derived from prenatal ultrasound measurements and explore differences in sociodemographic, pregnancy, and birth outcome characteristics across subgroups.