Physico-chemical properties and gestational diabetes predict transplacental transfer and partitioning of perfluoroalkyl substances

• Published in: Environment International
• Main Authors: Eryasa, Berrak, Grandjean, Philippe, Nielsen, Flemming, Valvi, Damaskini, Zmirou-Navier, Denis, Sunderland, Elsie, Weihe, Pal, Oulhote, Youssef
• Other Authors: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique EHESP (EHESP), Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail (Irset), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Rennes (UR)-École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique EHESP (EHESP)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Structure Fédérative de Recherche en Biologie et Santé de Rennes ( Biosit : Biologie - Santé - Innovation Technologique ), Université Paris Dauphine-PSL, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Harvard University, The Faroese Hospital System Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst), University of Massachusetts System (UMASS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2019
• Subjects: Perfluoroalkyl substances; Gestational diabetes; Transplacental transfer; [SDV.SPEE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Santé publique et épidémiologie; [SDV.EE.SANT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment/Health; [SDV.TOX]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Toxicology; Faroe Islands
• Online Access: https://ehesp.hal.science/hal-02464582; https://ehesp.hal.science/hal-02464582/document; https://ehesp.hal.science/hal-02464582/file/hal-02464582.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.05.068

International audience BACKGROUND: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a growing public health concern. Some longer chain PFASs bioaccumulate and many compounds persist in the environment for long time periods. Recent studies have established their ability to pass through placenta, yet data on the transplacental transfer efficiency and partitioning of short and long chain PFASs in blood matrices are limited.OBJECTIVES:To assess predictors of the partitioning of 17 PFAS compounds detected in the maternal serum, umbilical cord serum and whole cord blood samples from matched mother-newborn pairs from two Faroe Islands cohorts.METHODS: We examined 151 mother-newborn pairs from two successive Faroese birth cohorts. Cord:maternal serum (transplacental transfer) and serum:whole cord blood (blood partitioning) ratios were estimated for 17 PFAS compounds. We also examined the relationships of these ratios with maternal, newborns', and physico-chemical properties using multivariable regression analyses.RESULTS: Moderate to high correlations were observed between maternal and cord serum PFAS concentrations (ρ: 0.41 to 0.95), indicating significant transfer of these compounds from the mother to the fetus. Median transplacental transfer ratios were generally below 1, except for perfluorooctane sulfonamide (FOSA), and ranged between 0.36 for perfluorodecanoate (PFDA) and perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnDA) and 1.21 for FOSA. Most PFASs exhibited a preference to the serum component of the blood, except FOSA and perfluoroheptanoate (PFHpA), with blood partitioning ratios ranging from 0.36 for FOSA to 2.75 for PFUnDA. Both the functional groups and carbon chain length of different PFASs were important predictors of transplacental transfer and blood partitioning. We observed a U-shaped relationship between transplacental transfer ratios and carbon chain length for perfluorocarboxylates and perfluorosulfonates. Importantly, gestational diabetes was also a strong predictor of transplacental transfer ratios, with ...