National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 1R21ES036946-01

Associations of Prenatal PFAS Mixtures With Adult Metabolic, Vascular, and Bone Health

This NIH-funded project by Brown University studies the long-term health effects of prenatal exposure to PFAS chemicals on adult metabolic, vascular, and bone health, using a historic cohort and advanced analysis to inform health policies and interventions.

Description

Nearly all Americans are exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), toxic chemicals that contaminate food and drinking water. Exposure to these chemicals before birth can cause health problems in childhood. Our study will determine if these effects of early life PFAS exposures continue to cause worse metabolic, vascular, and bone health in mid-adulthood, and whether better diet quality and more physical activity can lessen these effects. This research will use the New England Family Study (NEFS), a prospective cohort of pregnancies from the 1960s, with data collected from children annually from birth through age 7, and again in mid-adulthood (mean age=47 years, n=400). The study will measure concentrations of 44 PFAS in stored serum samples collected during pregnancy and adulthood. Using advanced analytical methods, it will assess whether prenatal PFAS burden is associated with adverse health outcomes in mid-adulthood, independent of current PFAS levels, and whether diet and physical activity modify these effects. The team includes experts in exposure assessment, analytical chemistry, biostatistics, environmental epidemiology, and clinical medicine. The findings aim to inform health screening, refine PFAS drinking water regulations, and identify interventions to mitigate health impacts of prior exposures.

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