Objective To explore the associations between polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) exposure and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in newborns by nested case-control study.
Methods Mother-newborn pairs selected from Wenzhou Birth Cohort were recruited in this study, including 54 IUGR newborns and 67 control newborns matched by maternal age and newborn sex. Maternal blood and umbilical cord blood samples were collected and measured for concentrations of 19 PBDE congeners by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The relationship between PBDEs exposure and IUGR were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis and binary logistic regression analysis.
Results Significant differences were found between IUGR cases and controls in family monthly income, maternal education level, maternal weight gain during pregnancy, and pregnancy syndrome (P < 0.05), and no differences were found in other demographic indicators. Significant differences were also found in newborn's birth weight, birth length, gestational age, and Quetelet in dex (P < 0.001). The average positive rates of 19 PBDE congeners in maternal blood and umbilical cord blood samples were 61.16% and 42.67%, with a median range of ∑PBDEs being from not detected (ND) to 114.67ng/g (in terms of per gram of lipid, thereafter) and from ND to 126.67 ng/g, respectively. In umbilical cord blood samples, the mass fractions of ∑PBDEs, ∑BDE154-209, ∑BDE17-153, and BDE-207 were significantly higher in the IUGR cases than those in the controls (P < 0.05), while no differences were found in PBDEs in maternal blood samples. The binary logistic regression analysis results showed that the crude odd ratios (95%CI) of IUGR risk for high-level (> P66) vs low-level (< P33) BDE-207, ∑BDE154-209, and ∑PBDEs in umbilical cord blood were 2.513 (1.019-6.198), 2.500 (1.016-6.149), and 3.462 (1.379-8.691), respectively; the odd ratios (95%CI) for high-level (> P66) vs low-level (< P33) ∑PBDEs in umbilical cord blood changed to 3.130 (1.180-8.305) after adjusted for infant sex, maternal age, and maternal education level.
Conclusion PBDEs levels in umbilical cord blood are negatively associated with growth and development of newborns, and prenatal PBDEs exposure may be associated with elevated risk of IUGR in newborns.
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