title: Prenatal exposure to perfluorinated compounds affects thyroid hormone levels in newborn girls.
abstract: Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are ubiquitous in the environment and have been detected in humans and wildlife. Exposure to PFCs has decreased in the United States recently, while exposure to PFCs continues in Asian countries, which represents a public health concern. Various mechanisms by which PFCs affect fetal growth have been proposed, such as activation of peroxisome proliferators, disruption of thyroid hormones and changes in lipid metabolism. However, the overall evidence for an association with thyroid hormones is not strong. Therefore, we examined the effect of various prenatal PFCs on cord blood thyroid hormones: triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, and explored the endocrine disrupting effect of these PFCs on thyroid hormone levels in children according to gender. Two hundred and seventy-nine study participants were selected from among the enrolled participants in the Ewha Birth & Growth Retrospective Cohort, a retrospective birth cohort study conducted at Ewha Womans University Hospital, Seoul, Korea between 2006 and 2010. A generalized linear model was constructed to explore the association of PFCs and thyroid hormones. Further, an analysis stratified by gender was conducted. Our study shows that cord blood perfluoro n-pentanoic acid (PFPeA) was positively associated with cord blood T4 (p=0.01) level. Gender-specific analysis showed that prenatal PFCs: PFPeA and Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) exposure significantly increased T4 (p<0.01) and T3 (p=0.03), respectively, while perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) decreased TSH (p=0.04) concentration in newborn girls. Thus, prenatal PFC exposure may disrupt thyroid hormone homeostasis. Thyroid hormones play a crucial role in fetal development and may have gender specific action. Hence, these results are of utmost importance in high-risk groups, such as pregnant women and children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ewha Medical Research Center, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Surabhi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shah-Kulkarni
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang, South Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Mi
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yun-Chul
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University,Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hae Soon
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ewha Medical Research Center, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Preventive Medicine, Ewha Medical Research Center, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Jin
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyesook
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Young Ju
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ewha Medical Research Center, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: eunheeha@ewha.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Eun-Hee
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Ha
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D005466:Fluorocarbons; D013963:Thyroid Hormones
keywords: Girls; Perfluorinated compounds; Thyroid hormones