| Abstract: | BACKGROUND: Perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) are environmentally and biologically persistent synthetic chemicals. PFCAs include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, C8) and long-chain PFCAs (C9-C20). Studies examining long-chain PFCAs and fetal and postnatal growth are limited. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the associations of prenatal exposure to long chain PFCAs and fetal and postnatal growth. METHODS: For 223 Taiwanese mothers and their term infants, we measured PFOA and 4 long-chain PFCAs (ng/mL) in third trimester maternal serum; infant weight (kg), length and head circumference (cm) at birth; and childhood weight and height at approximately 2, 5, 8, and 11 years of age. For each sex, we used multivariable linear regression to examine associations between ln-transformed prenatal PFCAs and continuous infant measures, and logistic regression to examine small for gestational age (SGA). Linear mixed models were applied to prenatal PFCAs and childhood weight and height z-scores. RESULTS: In girls, prenatal perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDeA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA), and perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA) concentrations were inversely associated with birth weight (e.g., betabirth weight (kg) = -0.06, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.11, -0.01 per 1 ln-unit PFUnDA increase); Prenatal PFDeA and PFUnDA were associated with elevated odds of SGA; and PFDeA, PFUnDA, and PFDoDA were associated with lower average childhood height z-score. In boys, prenatal PFNA, and PFDoDA were associated with reductions in height at certain ages in childhood, but not with size at birth. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to long-chain PFCAs may interfere with fetal and childhood growth in girls, and childhood growth in boys. |
