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Cited by 29Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances researchToxic Organic Pollutants ImpactFluorine in Organic Chemistry

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Serum of 2 to 5 year-Old Children: Temporal Trends, Determinants, and Correlations with Maternal PFAS Concentrations

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Oh, Jiwon, Shin, Hyeong-Moo, Kannan, Kurunthachalam, Calafat, Antonia M., Schmidt, Rebecca J., Hertz-Picciotto, Irva, Bennett, Deborah H.·2024·Environmental Science & Technology
DOI 10.1021/acs.est.3c08928PMC PMC10882966
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Abstract

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Young children may experience higher per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure than adults due to breastfeeding, higher dust ingestion rates, and frequent hand-to-mouth activities. We explored temporal trends and determinants of child serum PFAS concentrations and their correlations with paired maternal PFAS concentrations. From 2009 to 2017, we collected one blood sample from each of 541 children aged 2–5 years participating in the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and Environment (CHARGE) study and quantified 14 PFAS in serum. For nine frequently detected PFAS (>65% of samples), we performed multiple regression adjusting for potential determinants to estimate mean percent concentration changes. For a subset of 327 children, we also quantified nine PFAS in their mother’s serum collected at the same visit and computed Spearman correlation coefficients ( r sp ) between maternal and child PFAS concentrations. During 2009–2017, child serum concentrations of all nine PFAS decreased by 6–25% annually. Several PFAS concentrations were higher among non-Hispanic white children and those with highly educated parents. Most maternal and child PFAS concentrations were moderately correlated ( r sp = 0.13–0.39), with a strong correlation for N -methyl perfluorooctane sulfonamido acetic acid ( r sp = 0.68). Breastfeeding duration appeared to contribute to higher child and lower maternal PFAS concentrations, resulting in relatively weak correlations between maternal and child PFAS concentrations for samples collected in early childhood. Considering that more than half of our study children had neurodevelopmental concerns, the generalizability of our findings might be limited.

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  • A recent analysis from the CHARGE study (2009-2017) reported median PFOS serum levels of 8.1 ng/mL (range 5.0-31.5) in children aged 2-5, significantly exceeding levels found in their mothers.

    “A recent analysis from the CHARGE study (2009–2017) reported median PFOS serum levels of 8.1 ng/mL (range 5.0–31.5) in children aged 2–5—significantly exceeding levels found in their mothers.”

    From Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Healthcare: Environmental and Clinical Insights (2025) · cites this paper as [61]

    The Results section reports a median child serum PFOS concentration of 2.45 ng/mL, not 8.1 ng/mL. It also says PFOS concentrations were higher in mothers than in children in the 327 mother–child pairs—the opposite of the claimed comparison. The study period and child ages match. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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Authors
Oh, J., Shin, H.-M., Kannan, K., Calafat, A. M., Schmidt, R. J., Hertz-Picciotto, I., & Bennett, D. H.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • Baylor University (US)
  • New York State Department of Health (US)
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
  • Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, California 95616, United States
Corresponding author
Oh, Jiwon
ORCID
Venue
Environmental Science & Technology
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Published
2024-02-09
ISSN
  • 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-5851
DOI
10.1021/acs.est.3c08928
PMC
PMC10882966
OpenAlex
W4391694779
Cited by
29
References
57
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 6
FWCI
3.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01ES020392, R21ES028131, R24ES028533, U2CES026542, U2CES026555, U2CES026560, P30ES023513)
  • NIH Office of the Director (UG3OD023365, UH3OD023365)
  • University of California, Davis
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P50HD103526, U54HD079125)
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (83543201)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Fluorine in Organic Chemistry
Keywords
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS exposure, children aged 2-5 years, serum PFAS concentrations, temporal trends, breastfeeding, parental education, racial differences, CHARGE study

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