Do Common Contaminants Accelerate Weight Gain in Children?

A recent study has shown that prenatal exposure to a combination of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) was associated with altered childhood BMI growth trajectories, with certain EDCs contributing to increased risk for lower birth size and accelerated BMI gain.

The data from the INMA cohort, comprising 1,911 participants, provided a comprehensive picture of prenatal exposure to various EDCs, including persistent chemicals like hexachlorobenzene (HCB), 4-4'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The study also examined nonpersistent chemicals such as phthalate metabolites and phenols, assessing their impact through blood and spot urine concentrations.

In single exposure models, exposure to EDCs like HCB, DDE, PCBs, and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) was associated with a significantly increased risk of children belonging to BMI growth trajectories characterized by lower birth size followed by accelerated BMI gain. This translated to a 19% to 32% higher relative risk ratio for those exposed to DDE and PFNA, in comparison to children with average birth size and slower BMI gain.

Moreover, HCB and DDE exposure were found to elevate the probability of children belonging to a trajectory characterized by higher birth size and accelerated BMI gain.

Ref: Parisa Montazeri,Nuria Güil-Oumrait,Sandra Marquez,Lourdes Cirugeda,Andrea Beneito,Mònica Guxens,Aitana Lertxundi,Maria-Jose Lopez-Espinosa,Loreto Santa-Marina,Jordi Sunyer,Maribel Casas,and Martine Vrijheid 2023; Prenatal Exposure to Multiple Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Childhood BMI Trajectories in the INMA Cohort Study; Environmental Health Perspectives 131:10 CID: 107006 https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11103.