PFAS passes more quickly from mother to fetus in women with gestational diabetes

An environmental epidemiologist at the University of Mbadachusetts at Amherst, studying the presence of PFAS compounds in new mothers and their babies, found that women with gestational diabetes had a "significantly higher" rate of product transfer. synthetic chemicals to their fetus.

The study recently published in International environment is one of the largest to date in terms of the number of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) examined – 17. These particular compounds are part of PFAS chemicals badociated with increasing health problems, including cancer risk, hormonal interference, suppression of the immune system and developmental disorders in infants and children.

Since the 1950s, PFAS compounds have been used throughout the world for common household and industrial products, including non-stick cookware, water and stain resistant materials, and food packaging. These "lifetime chemicals", so-called because they do not break down in the environment, are also used in aqueous fire fighting foams at military training sites and can s' infiltrate into the drinking water, which has become a major source of exposure in specific communities, especially in Mbadachusetts. .

"The contamination is present worldwide," says Youssef Oulhote, badistant professor in biostatistics and epidemiology at UMbad Amherst and the corresponding author of the study. "We even find them in polar bears."

Blood and umbilical cord blood samples from 151 mother-infant pairs in the Faroe Islands were examined by Oulhote and colleagues from Public Health at the Sorbonne University in Paris, University of Southern Denmark , the Faroe Hospital System and Harvard University, where Oulhote began his research. effects of chemicals on health.

The Faroe Islands are located off the northern coast of Europe, halfway between Norway and Iceland. The local population, which traditionally eats a lot of whales, is genetically and socio-economically homogeneous, thus minimizing "confounders" in research. "More importantly, they consume whale, which is an integral part of the food chain, so that it accumulates many contaminants," says Oulhote.

The study was the largest to date to model both transplacental transfer ratios and blood and plasma transfer patterns of multiple PFAS with different physical and chemical properties and maternal and neonatal characteristics. .

While previous research had shown that PFAS compounds crossed the placental barrier and reached the fetus, this study was the first to highlight the effects of gestational diabetes. "It's one of the most consistent results we've had," says Oulhote. "There was an average of 50% more transfers" among mothers with gestational diabetes. "We hypothesized that diabetes mellitus alters the kinetic disposition and metabolism of these chemicals and we know that this has already been demonstrated with some drugs and some nutrients in previous studies."

The researchers found that the transfer ratio depended on the physical and chemical structure of the compounds. Some PFAS compounds have been eliminated since 2002 due to concerns about their toxicity. The new PFAS compounds have shorter carbon chains and are expected to be less toxic and accumulate less.