Body mass index in young school-age children in relation to organochlorine compounds in early life: a prospective study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between maternal pregnancy and estimated postnatal serum concentrations of the organochlorines 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDE) and body mass index (BMI) z-scores in 5- to 9-year-old children.


METHODS
Maternal sera from the INUENDO birth cohort (2002-2004) comprising mother-child pairs (N=1109) from Greenland, Warsaw (Poland), and Kharkiv (Ukraine) were analysed for CB-153 and p,p'-DDE, using gas chromatography-mass-spectrometry, and were grouped into tertiles for statistical analyses. A toxicokinetic model was used to estimate the first 12 months cumulative exposure to the compounds. Associations between these compounds and child age- and sex-specific BMI z-scores were calculated at follow-up (2010-2012), using multiple linear regression analysis.


RESULTS
No clear associations between pregnancy CB-153 and p,p'-DDE and child BMI were observed (the pooled differences in BMI z-score (95% confidence interval) comparing 3rd tertile to 1st tertile were -0.07 (-0.32 to 0.18) and -0.10 (-0.30 to 0.10)  kg m(-2), respectively). For postnatal CB-153 and p,p'-DDE and BMI, the overall differences in BMI z-score comparing 3rd tertile to 1st tertile were 0.12 (-0.15 to 0.39) and -0.03 (-0.20 to 0.27) kg m(-2), respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
This follow-up study of Greenlandic, Polish and Ukrainian populations showed no clear association between pregnancy and postnatal exposure to p,p'-DDE and CB-153 and BMI at the age of 5-9 years.
Danish Ramazzini Centre, Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus C, Denmark.
B B
BB
Høyer
Department of Public Health, Section for Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
C H
CH
Ramlau-Hansen
Perinatal Epidemiology Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark.
T B
TB
Henriksen
Primary Health Care Clinic, Nuuk, Greenland.
H S
HS
Pedersen
Department of Toxicology and Risk Assessment, National Institute of Public Health-National Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw, Poland.
K
K
Góralczyk
Department of Social Medicine and Organization of Public Health, Kharkiv National Medical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
V
V
Zviezdai
Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
B A G
BA
Jönsson
Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
D
D
Heederik
Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
V
V
Lenters
Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
R
R
Vermeulen
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen NV, Denmark.
J P
JP
Bonde
Danish Ramazzini Centre, Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus C, Denmark.
G
G
Toft
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003634:DDT / Q000009:adverse effects; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006116:Greenland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000009:adverse effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014455:Ukraine / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D003634:DDT; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls