title: Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals during Pregnancy and Weight at 7 Years of Age: A Multi-pollutant Approach.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may induce weight gain and obesity in children, but the obesogenic effects of mixtures have not been studied.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated the associations between pre- and perinatal biomarker concentrations of 27 EDCs and child weight status at 7 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  In pregnant women enrolled in a Spanish birth cohort study between 2004 and 2006, we measured the concentrations of 10 phthalate metabolites, bisphenol A, cadmium, arsenic, and lead in two maternal pregnancy urine samples; 6 organochlorine compounds in maternal pregnancy serum; mercury in cord blood; and 6 polybrominated diphenyl ether congeners in colostrum. Among 470 children at 7 years, body mass index (BMI) z-scores were calculated, and overweight was defined as BMI > 85th percentile. We estimated associations with EDCs in single-pollutant models and applied principal-component analysis (PCA) on the 27 pollutant concentrations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In single-pollutant models, HCB (hexachlorobenzene), βHCH (β-hexachlorocyclohexane), and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners 138 and 180 were associated with increased child BMI z-scores; and HCB, βHCH, PCB-138, and DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) with overweight risk. PCA generated four factors that accounted for 43.4% of the total variance. The organochlorine factor was positively associated with BMI z-scores and with overweight (adjusted RR, tertile 3 vs. 1: 2.59; 95% CI: 1.19, 5.63), and these associations were robust to adjustment for other EDCs. Exposure in the second tertile of the phthalate factor was inversely associated with overweight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prenatal exposure to organochlorines was positively associated with overweight at age 7 years in our study population. Other EDCs exposures did not confound this association.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Keren
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Agay-Shay
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Damaskini
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Valvi
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garcia-Esteban
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Basagaña
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Maribel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casas
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sunyer
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vrijheid
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000652:urine; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D065927:Waist-Height Ratio; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D004785:Environmental Pollutants