Concentrations of perfluoroalkyl compounds in maternal and umbilical cord sera and birth outcomes in Korea

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2013-02, Vol.90 (5), p.1603-1609
• Main Authors: Lee, Youn Ju, Kim, Min-Kyun, Bae, Jisuk, Yang, Jae-Ho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; birth weight; blood serum; Delivery. Postpartum. Lactation; Environmental Pollutants - blood; Environmental Pollution - statistics & numerical data; Female; Fetal Blood - metabolism; fetal development; Fetal growth; Fluorocarbons - blood; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Maternal Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Maternal, fetal and perinatal monitoring; Medical sciences; perfluorocarbons; Perfluorohexane sulfonate; Perfluorooctane sulfonate; Perfluorooctanoic acid; Pregnancy; regression analysis; Republic of Korea; Serum; t-test; Transplacental transfer; umbilical cord; women
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.08.035

► PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS were 100% detected in maternal and umbilical cord sera. ► Maternal PFOA were decreased with parity; delivery is a major route for elimination. ► Maternal PFOS and cord PFHxS levels showed a possible association with fetal growth. ► Prenatal exposure of PFCs through placental transfer may be associated with birth effects. This study analyzed the concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) in maternal and umbilical cord sera at delivery from the general population in Korea. Seventy samples were analyzed with ion-pairing and LC/MS/MS. PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS were detected in both maternal and umbilical cord sera. There was a high correlation of PFC concentrations between maternal and cord serum samples, implying transplacental transport. Ranking of transplacental transfer efficiency was PFOA>PFHxS>PFOS. Student’s t-tests revealed that concentrations of maternal PFOA were related with decreases in birth weight, birth length and ponderal index, suggesting a possible impact on fetal growth. With multiple logistic regression models, maternal PFOS concentration showed a significant inverse association with ponderal index (OR=0.22; 95% CI, 0.05–0.90). Umbilical cord PFHxS concentration showed a significant inverse association with birth weight (OR=0.26; 95% CI, 0.08–0.85) or a marginally significant inverse association with birth length (OR=0.33; 95% CI, 0.09–1.17). This is the first report demonstrating an inverse association of birth outcomes with PFHxS exposure. Concentrations of maternal PFOA were decreased with parity, implying that delivery is one of the major routes for PFOA elimination in women. This study demonstrated prenatal exposure of PFCs through placental transfer which could result in possible developmental effects in the population sampled. Our results may provide data basis to conduct a larger scale investigation into developmental effects of PFCs in the future and contribute to understanding levels of PFC contaminations from a variety of populations in the globe.