Eur J Endocrinol. 2024 Mar 30:lvae039. doi: 10.1093/ejendo/lvae039. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances(PFAS) are non-degradable, man-made-chemicals. They accumulate in humans with potential harmful effects, especially in susceptible periods of human development, such as the first months of life. We found that, in our cohort, exclusively breastfed infants(EBF) had 3-times higher PFAS-plasma-levels, compared to exclusively formula-fed infants(EFF) at age 3 months. Thus, PFAS could potentially reduce breastfeeding’s health benefits. We investigated the associations between PFAS levels at age 3 months and accelerated gain in fat mass during the first six months of life, body composition at 2 years and if these associations differ between EBF- and EFF-infants.
METHODS: In 372 healthy term-born infants, we longitudinally assessed anthropometrics, body composition (by Air displacement plethysmography(ADP) and Dual-energy-X-ray-Absorptiometry(DXA)) and visceral and subcutaneous fat (by abdominal ultrasound) until age 2 years. Plasma levels of 5 individual PFAS were determined by liquid-chromatography-electrospray-ionization-tandem-mass-spectrometry(LC-ESI-MS/MS) at age 3 months. We studied associations between PFAS-levels and outcomes using multiple regression analyses.
RESULTS: Higher early life plasma PFOA and total PFAS levels were associated with an accelerated gain in FM%(>0.67 SDS) during the first 6 months of life. Higher early life PFAS levels were associated with lower fat free mass(FFM) SDS at age 2 years, but not with total FM% SDS at 2 years. Furthermore, we found opposite effects of PFAS levels (negative) and exclusive breastfeeding (positive) at age 3 months on FFM SDS at 2 years.
CONCLUSION: Higher PFAS levels in early life associate with accelerated gain in FM% during the first 6 months of life and with lower FFM SDS at age 2 years, which have been associated with an unfavorable body composition and metabolic profile later in life. Our findings warrant further research with longer follow-up.
PMID:38554392 | DOI:10.1093/ejendo/lvae039
