Paternal and Maternal Exposures to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Child Behavioral Difficulties: A Parental Comparison Study
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widespread environmental pollutants with documented developmental toxicity. Prior research of prenatal PFAS exposure and offspring neurodevelopment did not consider the possible influence from paternal exposure. Using the INUENDO cohort, we studied 334 father-mother-singleton triads enrolled from antenatal clinics in Greenland, Poland, and Ukraine. We measured five PFAS in parental serum samples collected around the 31 weeks of gestation. We assessed child behavioral difficulties at ages 5-9 years by the parent-rated Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire using country- and sex-specific cut-offs (≥90th percentile). We performed analyses stratified by child's sex, coadjusting for maternal or paternal PFAS and other confounders and estimating PFAS mixture effects using quantile g-computation. In male children, multiple maternal PFAS, modeled as individual chemicals or a mixture, were associated with externalizing difficulties. Maternal perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) was associated with internalizing difficulties in female children. In contrast, paternal exposure to individual PFAS or PFAS mixture was not associated with behavioral difficulties in children of either sex. In summary, maternal prenatal exposure to PFAS, but not paternal PFAS, was associated with mid-childhood behavioral difficulties in a sex-specific manner. Comparing the parent-specific PFAS associations strengthened evidence against confounding shared in the family.
Institutions: Yale University, University of Chicago, Aarhus University Hospital, Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, National Institutes of Health, Narodowy Instytut Zdrowia Publicznego PZH – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Kharkiv National Medical University, University of California, Los Angeles, Aarhus University, Fielding Graduate University
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Chemistry
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1091213608, Paternal and Maternal Perfluoroalkyl Substance Exposure and Offspring health, Climate change, Environmental contaminants and Reproductive health, G1593674991, G1815016417, G2760507634, G7627662660, California Center for Population Research (CCPR) at UCLA, ChicAgo Center for Health and EnvironmenT (CACHET)
OpenAlex ID: W4408632634