Persistent organic pollutants, bisphenol A, phthalates and respiratory and immune health in childhood
Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), bisphenol A (BPA) and pthalates may increase the risk of respiratory infections and allergic diseases in infants and the effects might last until, at least, adolescence. Cytokines and biomarkers of inflammation can provide information of the mechanisms behind such associations. Data from the “Infancia y Medioambiente” (INMA) population-based birth cohort project and from six other existing European birth cohort studies have been used in the present thesis, which also includes a systematic review. Results of the present work, which includes five scientific publications, suggest that prenatal exposure to POPs affects the immune and respiratory health of children, that the effects are observed even at low levels of exposure and that these may last until adolescence. Biological mechanisms behind such effects were not possible to describe in the present thesis, however, it provided information of a potential biomarker (interleukin 10) of chronic immunotoxic effects of POPs. Results also indicate potential effects of prenatal exposure to BPA and phthalates on the development and functioning of the immune and respiratory systems of infants and children. In the present thesis we highlight the limitations of existing studies in the field and provide recommendations for future research.
Authors: Gascon Merlos, Mireia
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2508248440