title: Association between prenatal polychlorinated biphenyl exposure and obesity development at ages 5 and 7 y: a prospective cohort study of 656 children from the Faroe Islands.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chemicals with endocrine-disrupting abilities may act as obesogens and interfere with the body's natural weight-control mechanisms, especially if exposure occurs during prenatal life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We examined the association between prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and subsequent obesity at 5 and 7 y of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 1997 to 2000, 656 pregnant Faroese women were recruited. PCB and DDE were measured in maternal serum and breast milk, and children's weight, height, and waist circumference (WC) were measured at clinical examinations at 5 and 7 y of age. The change in body mass index (BMI) from 5 to 7 y of age was calculated. Analyses were performed by using multiple linear regression models for girls and boys separately, taking into account maternal prepregnancy BMI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For 7-y-old girls who had overweight mothers, PCB was associated with increased BMI (β = 2.07, P = 0.007), and PCB and DDE were associated with an increased change in BMI from 5 to 7 y of age (PCB: β = 1.23, P = 0.003; DDE: β = 1.11, P = 0.008). No association was observed with BMI in girls with normal-weight mothers. PCB was associated with increased WC in girls with overweight mothers (β = 2.48, P = 0.001) and normal-weight mothers (β = 1.25, P = 0.04); DDE was associated with increased WC only in girls with overweight mothers (β = 2.21, P = 0.002). No associations were observed between PCB or DDE and BMI in 5-y-old girls. For boys, no associations were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest that prenatal exposure to PCB and DDE may play a role for subsequent obesity development. Girls whose mothers have a high prepregnancy BMI seem most affected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Medicine, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark (JLT-P, HRA, PG, and TKJ); the Research Unit for Dietary Studies, Institute of Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospitals, Frederiksberg, Denmark (JLT-P and BLH); the National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark (BLH); the Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise & Eating Disorders, Sydney Medical School, Sydney, Australia (BLH); the Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands (US); and the Department of Environmental Medicine, Faroese Hospital System, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands (PW).
authors.forename: Jeanett L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Tang-Péronard
authors.forename: Berit L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Heitmann
authors.forename: Helle R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Steuerwald
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grandjean
authors.forename: Pál
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Weihe
authors.forename: Tina K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003718:Denmark; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry; D009765:Obesity / Q000139:chemically induced*; D050177:Overweight / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls