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Perfluoroalkyl substances and time to pregnancy in couples from Greenland, Poland and Ukraine

Jørgensen, Kristian T. ; Specht, Ina O. ; Lenters, Virissa ; Bach, Cathrine C. ; Rylander, Lars LU orcid ; Jönsson, Bo A.G. LU ; Lindh, Christian H. LU orcid ; Giwercman, Aleksander LU ; Heederik, Dick and Toft, Gunnar , et al. (2014) In Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source 13(1).
Abstract

Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are suggested to affect human fecundity through longer time to pregnancy (TTP). We studied the relationship between four abundant PFAS and TTP in pregnant women from Greenland, Poland and Ukraine representing varying PFAS exposures and pregnancy planning behaviors. Methods: We measured serum levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) in 938 women from Greenland (448 women), Poland (203 women) and Ukraine (287 women). PFAS exposure was assessed on a continuous logarithm transformed scale and in country-specific tertiles. We used Cox discrete-time models and logistic regression to estimate... (More)

Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are suggested to affect human fecundity through longer time to pregnancy (TTP). We studied the relationship between four abundant PFAS and TTP in pregnant women from Greenland, Poland and Ukraine representing varying PFAS exposures and pregnancy planning behaviors. Methods: We measured serum levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) in 938 women from Greenland (448 women), Poland (203 women) and Ukraine (287 women). PFAS exposure was assessed on a continuous logarithm transformed scale and in country-specific tertiles. We used Cox discrete-time models and logistic regression to estimate fecundability ratios (FRs) and infertility (TTP >13 months) odds ratios (ORs), respectively, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) according to PFAS levels. Adjusted analyses of the association between PFAS and TTP were done for each study population and in a pooled sample. Results: Higher PFNA levels were associated with longer TTP in the pooled sample (log-scale FR∈=∈0.80; 95% CI 0.69-0.94) and specifically in women from Greenland (log-scale FR∈=∈0.72; 95% CI 0.58-0.89). ORs for infertility were also increased in the pooled sample (log-scale OR∈=∈1.53; 95% CI 1.08-2.15) and in women from Greenland (log-scale OR∈=∈1.97; 95% CI 1.22-3.19). However, in a sensitivity analysis of primiparous women these associations could not be replicated. Associations with PFNA were weaker for women from Poland and Ukraine. PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS were not consistently associated with TTP. Conclusions: Findings do not provide consistent evidence that environmental exposure to PFAS is impairing female fecundity by delaying time taken to conceive.

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publishing date
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publication status
published
subject
keywords
Fecundity, Infertility, Perfluorinated compounds, Persistent environmental pollutants
in
Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source
volume
13
issue
1
article number
116
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • scopus:84926474797
  • pmid:25533644
ISSN
1476-069X
DOI
10.1186/1476-069X-13-116
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
dbfc380a-7a2b-47d6-a377-ab72d48faee3
date added to LUP
2019-05-21 21:15:29
date last changed
2024-10-30 03:26:08
@article{dbfc380a-7a2b-47d6-a377-ab72d48faee3,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are suggested to affect human fecundity through longer time to pregnancy (TTP). We studied the relationship between four abundant PFAS and TTP in pregnant women from Greenland, Poland and Ukraine representing varying PFAS exposures and pregnancy planning behaviors. Methods: We measured serum levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) in 938 women from Greenland (448 women), Poland (203 women) and Ukraine (287 women). PFAS exposure was assessed on a continuous logarithm transformed scale and in country-specific tertiles. We used Cox discrete-time models and logistic regression to estimate fecundability ratios (FRs) and infertility (TTP &gt;13 months) odds ratios (ORs), respectively, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) according to PFAS levels. Adjusted analyses of the association between PFAS and TTP were done for each study population and in a pooled sample. Results: Higher PFNA levels were associated with longer TTP in the pooled sample (log-scale FR∈=∈0.80; 95% CI 0.69-0.94) and specifically in women from Greenland (log-scale FR∈=∈0.72; 95% CI 0.58-0.89). ORs for infertility were also increased in the pooled sample (log-scale OR∈=∈1.53; 95% CI 1.08-2.15) and in women from Greenland (log-scale OR∈=∈1.97; 95% CI 1.22-3.19). However, in a sensitivity analysis of primiparous women these associations could not be replicated. Associations with PFNA were weaker for women from Poland and Ukraine. PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS were not consistently associated with TTP. Conclusions: Findings do not provide consistent evidence that environmental exposure to PFAS is impairing female fecundity by delaying time taken to conceive.</p>}},
  author       = {{Jørgensen, Kristian T. and Specht, Ina O. and Lenters, Virissa and Bach, Cathrine C. and Rylander, Lars and Jönsson, Bo A.G. and Lindh, Christian H. and Giwercman, Aleksander and Heederik, Dick and Toft, Gunnar and Bonde, Jens Peter}},
  issn         = {{1476-069X}},
  keywords     = {{Fecundity; Infertility; Perfluorinated compounds; Persistent environmental pollutants}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source}},
  title        = {{Perfluoroalkyl substances and time to pregnancy in couples from Greenland, Poland and Ukraine}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-13-116}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/1476-069X-13-116}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}