title: In utero DDT and DDE exposure and obesity status of 7-year-old Mexican-American children in the CHAMACOS cohort.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In utero exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) has been hypothesized to increase risk of obesity later in life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study is a longitudinal birth cohort of low-income Latinas living in a California agricultural community. We examined the relation of in utero DDT and DDE exposure to child obesity at 7 years of age. We also examined the trend with age (2, 3.5, 5, and 7 years) in the exposure-obesity relation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included 270 children with o,p´-DDT, p,p´-DDT, and p,p´-DDE concentrations measured in maternal serum during pregnancy (nanograms per gram lipid) and complete 7-year follow-up data including weight (kilograms) and height (centimeters). Body mass index (BMI; kilograms per meter squared) was calculated and obesity was defined as ≥ 95th percentile on the sex-specific BMI-for-age Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 growth charts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 7 years, 96 (35.6%) children were obese. A 10-fold increase in o,p´-DDT, p,p´-DDT, or p,p´-DDE, was nonsignificantly associated with increased odds (OR) of obesity [o,p´-DDT adjusted (adj-) OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 0.75, 1.82; p,p´-DDT adj-OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 0.81, 1.74; p,p´-DDE adj-OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.72, 2.06]. With increasing age at follow-up, we observed a significant trend toward a positive association between DDT and DDE exposure and odds of obesity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We did not find a significant positive relation between in utero DDT and DDE exposure and obesity status of 7-year-old children. However, given the observed trend with age, continued follow-up will be informative.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-7392, USA. mwarner@berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Marcella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Warner
authors.forename: Raul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aguilar Schall
authors.forename: Kim G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Harley
authors.forename: Asa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bradman
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barr
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eskenazi
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003634:DDT / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017058:Mexican Americans; D009765:Obesity / Q000139:chemically induced*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
chemical_list: D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; D003634:DDT