Associations of prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances with the neonatal birth size and hormones in the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor Axis
Abstract
Toxicological data suggest a significant developmental toxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs); however, evidence in humans remains inconclusive. Furthermore, the effects of prenatal exposure to PFASs on hormones in the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis of newborns remain largely unclear. We aimed to investigate the associations of prenatal exposure to PFASs with the neonatal birth size, GH, IGF-1, and IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3). The concentrations of 22 PFASs were measured in the plasma of 224 pregnant women collected within 3 days before delivery (39.3 weeks) in Guangzhou, China, and the anthropometric data were gathered from medical records. Paired cord blood was collected at delivery to determine GH, IGF-1, and IGFBP-3 levels. Multivariable linear regression models revealed the inverse associations of several long-chain PFASs with birth weight and ponderal index as well as the significant associations of perfluorobutanoic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) with IGFBP-3 levels. The Bayesian kernel machine regression confirmed the association of perfluorooctane sulfonate with birth weight and ponderal index and of PFOA with IGFBP-3 and identified an inverse joint effect of exposure to a mixture of multiple PFASs on birth weight. The findings provide the first comprehensive evidence on the individual and joint effects of multiple PFASs on the neonatal birth size and hormones in the GH/IGF axis, which requires further confirmat…
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Research investigating the joint effects of PFAS mixture on anthropometric measures at birth remains limited.
“However, research investigating the joint effects of PFAS mixture on anthropometric measures at birth remains limited (Luo et al., 2021; Marks et al., 2021; Eick et al., 2022a; Hu et al., 2021a).”
From Associations between in utero exposure of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) mixture and anthropometry measures at birth (2025) · cites this paper as Luo et al., 2021
6:2 Cl-PFESA emerged as the fourth most abundant PFAS compound with a median concentration of 0.32 ng/mL, which was comparable or lower than the reported medians ranging 0.32-2.05 ng/mL in infants from China in 2013-2022.
“6:2 Cl-PFESA, one of the emerging PFAS frequently detected in populations from China, emerged as the fourth most abundant PFAS compound with a median concentration of 0.32 ng/mL, which was comparable or lower than the reported medians ranging 0.32–2.05 ng/mL in the infants from China in 2013-202263− 65,68,69,71.”
From Associations between in utero exposure of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) mixture and anthropometry measures at birth (2025) · cites this paper as [65]
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Zhao, N., Zhang, X., Li, Y., Zhang, H., Yang, E., Ding, L., & Liu, Y. (2025) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126093 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- Luo, D., Wu, W., Pan, Y., Du, B., Shen, M., & Zeng, L.
- Affiliations
- Jinan University (CN)
- Guangdong Province Women and Children Hospital (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Zeng, Lixi
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2021-08-11
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 17
- Pages
- 11859-11873
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W3190353662
- Cited by
- 51
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 3.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M683203)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (21876063, 22076064)
- Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2020A1515010434)
- Guangdong Special Support Program (2019TX05L129)
- Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2019A1515111012)
- Special Fund Project for Science and Technology Innovation Strategy of Guangdong Province (2019B121205004)
- Guangdong (China) Innovative and Entrepreneurial Research Team Program (2016ZT06N258)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
- Keywords
- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, prenatal exposure, birth weight, ponderal index, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor I, IGF binding protein-3, perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOS, perfluorobutanoic acid, PFAS mixtures, developmental toxicity, umbilical cord blood, maternal plasma
- MeSH terms
- Alkanes, Bayes Theorem, China, Female, Fetal Blood, Humans, Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated, Infant, Newborn, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Growth Hormone, Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3
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