Childhood exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and neurodevelopment in the CHARGE case-control study

Background/Aim: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are shown to have neurotoxic effects on animals. Several epidemiological studies reported associations between childhood exposure PFAS neurodevelopment in childhood, but the results remain inconclusive. We examined if concentrations were associated with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), developmental delay (DD), other early concerns (OEC). Methods: included 551 children 2 5 years old from CHildhood Autism Risks Genetics Environment (CHARGE) study. Children clinically diagnosed classified into ASD (n = 190), DD 103), OEC 78), typical development (TD; n 180) groups. Fourteen quantified their serum samples collected when diagnostic assessments performed. used multinomial logistic regression models investigate individual neurodevelopmental outcomes weighted quantile sum (WQS) assess mixture PFAS. Results: Childhood perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) was increased odds (odds ratio [OR] 2.41, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.43, 4.08) (OR 2.28, CI: 1.25, 4.16) versus TD. Perfluoroheptanoate (PFHpA) 1.71, 1.29, 2.28). However, perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnDA) decreased 0.44, 0.27, 0.71). From analyses, one unit increase WQS index 1.70, 1.19, 2.43). Conclusions: In this case-control study, PFOA, PFHpA, ASD, while PFUnDA ASD. Because we concurrent measurements PFAS, our do not imply causal relationships thus need be interpreted caution. Keywords: mixture, child serum, disorder,