posted on 2025-01-30, 08:04authored byPan Yang, Songyi Huang, Jiehao Li, Tiantian Duan, Lixin Zhou, Xiaojie Li, Langjing Deng, Jinying Xie, Hong Mei, Han Xiao, Aifen Zhou, Da Chen
Prenatal
exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)
has been linked to adverse fetal growth and development. However,
most evidence was generated based on the singleton pregnancy studies,
whereas potential impact on twin fetuses remains largely unknown.
This study aimed to explore the associations of prenatal PFAS exposure
with the growth and developmental differences within twin pairs by
investigating 162 twin newborns and their mothers and determining
19 PFASs in maternal serum during the first, second, and third trimesters
and cord serum of twins. The results revealed that exposure to selected
PFASs was significantly and positively associated with the within-pair
differences in the birth weight or height. For example, maternal perfluorooctanoic
acid (PFOA) exposure by a 1-unit increase was significantly associated
with an increase of within-pair birth weight differences (% change
= 40.57%, 95% CI: 28.58–53.68%). The negative impact of PFAS
exposure on birth weight or height was more pronounced in the smaller
fetuses as compared with the larger fetuses within each twin pair.
The impact of PFAS exposure on within-pair growth and developmental
differences also differed between those of the monozygotic (MZ) and
dizygotic (DZ) twins. For example, the within-pair birth weight differences
in the DZ twins (% change = 57.24%, 95% CI: 38.41–78.62%) attributable
to intrauterine PFOA exposure exhibited a greater effect of percentage
change than those in the MZ twins (% change = 21.27%, 95% CI: 5.13–39.89%).
PFAS mixtures were found to be positively associated with birth weight
and height differences within newborn twins with PFOA, perfluorodecanoic
acid, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and perfluorononanoic acid as
the major contributors to the outcomes. Our study provides epidemiological
evidence for the first time on the potential influence of PFAS exposure
on the within-pair growth and developmental differences.