RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Prenatal exposure to environmental contaminants and asthma and eczema in school-age children
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP 2918
VO 44
IS Suppl 58
A1 Lidwien A.M. Smit
A1 Virissa Lenters
A1 Birgit Bjerre Høyer
A1 Christian H. Lindh
A1 Henning S. Pedersen
A1 Iuliia Lermontova
A1 Bo A.G. Jönsson
A1 Aldert H. Piersma
A1 Jens Peter Bonde
A1 Gunnar Toft
A1 Roel Vermeulen
A1 Dick Heederik
YR 2014
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/2918.abstract
AB Background Emerging evidence suggests that prenatal or early-life exposures to environmental contaminants may contribute to an increased risk of asthma and allergies in children.Aim We explored associations of prenatal exposures to a large set of environmental contaminants with asthma and eczema symptoms in school-age children from a birth cohort in Greenland (n=572) and Ukraine (n=607).Methods Data were collected by means of an interview-based questionnaire when the children were 6-9 years of age. Questions from the ISAAC study were used to define asthma, eczema, and wheeze. We applied principal components analysis (PCA) to sixteen contaminants in maternal serum sampled during pregnancy, including perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), metabolites of diethylhexyl (DEHP) and diisononyl (DiNP) phthalates, PCB-153 and p,p´-DDE. Scores of five components (PCs) explaining 70% of the variance were included in multiple logistic regression models.Results The PC3 score (reflective of DEHP metabolites) was positively associated with wheeze in Ukrainian children (current wheeze: OR 1.57, 95%CI 1.04-2.38; ever wheeze: OR 1.32, 0.97-1.78). The PC5 score (dominated by perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA) was inversely associated with current wheeze (OR 0.63, 0.40-0.99). In children from Greenland, negative associations of PC2 (DiNP metabolites) with current eczema (OR 0.63, 0.40-1.00) and PC4 (organochlorines) with ever eczema (OR 0.76, 0.60-0.95) were found.Conclusion We found limited evidence to support a link between prenatal exposure to measured contaminants and an increased risk of asthma and eczema symptoms in school-age children.