Journal Article

Estimated postnatal p,p’-DDT and p,p’-DDE levels and body mass index at 42 months of age in a longitudinal study of Japanese children

Plouffe, Laurence, Verner, Marc-André, Tatsuta, Nozomi, Madaniyazi, Lina, Bosson-Rieutort, Delphine, Iwai-Shimada, Miyuki, Nakai, Kunihiko, Nakayama, Shoji F.

2020

Overview

Background Children are exposed to p,p’- dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane ( p,p’- DDT) and p,p’- dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene ( p,p’- DDE) through placental and lactational transfer. Some studies have suggested that early-life exposure to these compounds could lead to increased body mass index (BMI) during childhood. Our aim was to assess whether children’s exposure during the first 2 years of life is associated with BMI z-score in Japanese children at 42 months of age. Methods We used data from a birth cohort ( n  = 290) of the Tohoku Study of Child Development. p,p’- DDT and p,p’- DDE levels were measured in breast milk samples collected 1 month after birth, and levels in children were estimated using a toxicokinetic model for three exposure periods (0–6 months, 6–12 months, 12–24 months). Associations between exposure estimates and BMI z-score at 42 months of age were assessed using multivariate linear regression models. Results We found no significant association between levels of p,p’- DDT measured in breast milk or estimated in children and BMI z-score. However, we observed associations between estimated p,p’- DDE levels in girls during all postnatal exposure periods and BMI z-score; for each log increase in the estimated p,p’- DDE levels, BMI z-score increased by 0.23 (C.I. 95%: 0.01, 0.45) for the 0–6 months exposure period, 0.26 (C.I. 95%: 0.06, 0.47) for the 6–12 months exposure period, and 0.24 (C.I. 95%: 0.05, 0.43) for the 12–24 months exposure period. Conclusion In this study of Japanese children, estimated postnatal p,p’- DDE levels were associated with increased BMI z-score at 42 months of age, mostly in girls. These results are in line with previous studies supporting that early-life exposure to p,p’- DDE may be associated with higher BMI during childhood.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Age / Analysis / Bisphenol-A / Body Mass Index / Body mass index (BMI) / Body size / Breast milk / Breastfeeding & lactation / Child Development / Child, Preschool / Children / Children & youth / Children's Environmental Health / Chromatography / Correlation analysis / DDE / DDT / DDT - metabolism / Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene - metabolism / Earth and Environmental Science / Environment / Environmental Exposure / Environmental Health / Environmental Pollutants - metabolism / Exposure / Female / Humans / In vitro fertilization / Insecticides - metabolism / Japan / Lipids / Longitudinal Studies / Male / Milk / Milk, Human - chemistry / Nitrous oxide / Obesity / Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine / p,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p’-DDE) / p,p’-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p’-DDT) / Pesticides / Placenta / Pollutants / Postnatal exposure / Pregnancy / Public Health / Questionnaires / Regression analysis / Regression models / Studies / Toxicokinetic modeling / Urban areas / Womens health