Mixture effects of prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and polybrominated diphenyl ethers on maternal and newborn telomere length

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are endocrine disrupting chemicals associated with reproductive toxicity adverse health outcomes, including certain cancers. PFAS PBDEs may affect through alternations in telomere length. We examined joint associations between prenatal exposure to PFAS, PBDEs, maternal newborn length using mixture analyses, characterize effects of cumulative environmental chemical exposures. METHODS: Study participants were enrolled the Chemicals Our Bodies study, a demographically diverse cohort pregnant women children San Francisco, CA. Seven (ng/mL) four (ng/g lipid) measured second trimester serum. Telomere (T/S ratio) was delivery cord blood 292 newborns 110 whole samples. Quantile g-computation used assess groups Groups considered were: (1) all combined, (2) (3) PBDEs. Maternal modeled as separate outcomes. RESULTS:T/S ratios moderately correlated (Spearman ρ= 0.31). In mixtures simultaneous one quartile increase small (mean change per =0.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]=-0.03, 0.08) =0.03 (95% CI=-0.03, 0.09). When restricted maternal-fetal paired samples (N=76), increasing combined strong, positive increase=0.16, CI=0.03, 0.28). These primarily driven by increase= 0.11 [95% CI=0.01, 0.22]). CONCLUSIONS:Our findings show that be positively KEYWORDS: poly-fluoroalkyl substances, Polybrominated ethers, telomere,