141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

285308
Temporal development of serum profiles of perfluorinated compounds in children up to age 13

Monday, November 4, 2013

Flemming Nielsen, Ph.D , Department of Environmental Medicine, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Esben Budtz-Jørgensen, Ph.D , Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Ulla Brasch Mogensen, Ph.D , Department of Public Health, Section of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Pal Weihe, MD , Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, The Faroese Hospital System, Torshavn, Faroe Islands
Philippe Grandjean, MD, DMSc , Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are persistent chemicals with unique chemical and physical properties; they are widely used in numerous industrial and consumer products. Knowledge on health effects in humans is sparse, but our group recently reported elevated exposures to PFCs were associated with reduced humoral immune response to routine childhood immunizations in children. We present data from repeated measures of PFCs in 20 Faroese children; from prenatal exposure (maternal serum and cord serum/whole blood) and at the ages of 11 months, 18 months, 5 years, 7 years and 13 years. Maternal and fetal levels were significantly correlated for all PFCs with median concentrations in cord serum ranging between 30-79 % of the maternal concentrations, while cord whole blood levels were lower. The apparent partition of the PFCs across the placental barrier varied according to chain length, branching and active group. Increasing chain length was associated with decreased passage. Highly significant correlations were observed between serum concentrations of PFHxS, PFOA, PFOS (branched as well as linear), PFNA and PFDA at 11 and 18 month as well as at 5 and 7 years, thus possibly indicating that sources of exposure in children are relatively consistent. Sampling from 656 children at age 13 years will be completed medio 2013 and the results from these samples will also be presented. The repeated measurements of PFCs from prenatal exposure to age 13 years will be included in a statistical model for prediction of PFC concentrations in blood.

Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciences
Epidemiology
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
DISCUSS the influence of prenatal exposure to PFCs with the blood concentrations found later in the childhood. DISCUSS the partition of the PFCs across the placental barrier according to chain length, branching and active group.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been co-principal for more federally funded grants focusing on environmental medicine and public health. My scientific interest has been analytical chemistry of environmental toxicants and pharmaceuticals in humans.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.