Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Prenatal and postnatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and bone mineral content and bone mineral density in 9-year-old children from the Odense Child Cohort

Sigvaldsen, Annika ; Batzella, Erich LU ; Dalgård, Christine ; Juul, Anders ; Nielsen, Christel LU orcid ; Andersen, Marianne Skovsager ; Nielsen, Flemming and Jensen, Tina Kold (2025) In Environmental Research 286.
Abstract

Background: Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been associated with lower bone mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD) in children, but prospective studies remain limited. We aimed to investigate associations between prenatal and childhood PFAS exposure and BMC/BMD at age 9 years, following up on our previous findings from age 7 years. Methods: We used data from the Odense Child Cohort, which enrolled pregnant women between 2010 and 2012 and followed their children. Five PFAS were measured in maternal first-trimester serum, and eight PFAS in child serum at 18 months and 5 years. Whole-body DXA scans were conducted at age 9 years. We used covariate-adjusted linear regression models and examined PFAS mixture... (More)

Background: Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been associated with lower bone mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD) in children, but prospective studies remain limited. We aimed to investigate associations between prenatal and childhood PFAS exposure and BMC/BMD at age 9 years, following up on our previous findings from age 7 years. Methods: We used data from the Odense Child Cohort, which enrolled pregnant women between 2010 and 2012 and followed their children. Five PFAS were measured in maternal first-trimester serum, and eight PFAS in child serum at 18 months and 5 years. Whole-body DXA scans were conducted at age 9 years. We used covariate-adjusted linear regression models and examined PFAS mixture effects using quantile g-computation. All models were stratified by child sex. Results: In this relatively low-exposed cohort, higher prenatal (n = 845) and childhood (n = 630 and n = 719) PFAS concentrations were associated with lower BMC and BMD Z-scores at age 9 years, although none of the estimates reached statistical significance. Generally, stronger associations were found in boys. Consistent with the single-pollutant models, mixture analyses indicated that maternal exposure to the PFAS mixture was significantly associated with a 4.86 g (−9.6; −0.13) reduction in BMC at age 9 years. Conclusion: Our findings align with previous studies suggesting that bone may be a target tissue for PFAS, with effects that may persist over time. These findings raise public health concerns, as lower bone mass in childhood is associated with increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures in adulthood.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
bone health, Bone mineral density, Children, Endocrine disruptors, Perfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS
in
Environmental Research
volume
286
article number
122936
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:40998208
  • scopus:105017116243
ISSN
0013-9351
DOI
10.1016/j.envres.2025.122936
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors
id
f0e345b4-68f6-4743-8161-500b0b0e1868
date added to LUP
2025-10-06 11:18:55
date last changed
2025-10-20 12:59:24
@article{f0e345b4-68f6-4743-8161-500b0b0e1868,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been associated with lower bone mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD) in children, but prospective studies remain limited. We aimed to investigate associations between prenatal and childhood PFAS exposure and BMC/BMD at age 9 years, following up on our previous findings from age 7 years. Methods: We used data from the Odense Child Cohort, which enrolled pregnant women between 2010 and 2012 and followed their children. Five PFAS were measured in maternal first-trimester serum, and eight PFAS in child serum at 18 months and 5 years. Whole-body DXA scans were conducted at age 9 years. We used covariate-adjusted linear regression models and examined PFAS mixture effects using quantile g-computation. All models were stratified by child sex. Results: In this relatively low-exposed cohort, higher prenatal (n = 845) and childhood (n = 630 and n = 719) PFAS concentrations were associated with lower BMC and BMD Z-scores at age 9 years, although none of the estimates reached statistical significance. Generally, stronger associations were found in boys. Consistent with the single-pollutant models, mixture analyses indicated that maternal exposure to the PFAS mixture was significantly associated with a 4.86 g (−9.6; −0.13) reduction in BMC at age 9 years. Conclusion: Our findings align with previous studies suggesting that bone may be a target tissue for PFAS, with effects that may persist over time. These findings raise public health concerns, as lower bone mass in childhood is associated with increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures in adulthood.</p>}},
  author       = {{Sigvaldsen, Annika and Batzella, Erich and Dalgård, Christine and Juul, Anders and Nielsen, Christel and Andersen, Marianne Skovsager and Nielsen, Flemming and Jensen, Tina Kold}},
  issn         = {{0013-9351}},
  keywords     = {{bone health; Bone mineral density; Children; Endocrine disruptors; Perfluoroalkyl substances; PFAS}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Environmental Research}},
  title        = {{Prenatal and postnatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and bone mineral content and bone mineral density in 9-year-old children from the Odense Child Cohort}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.122936}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.envres.2025.122936}},
  volume       = {{286}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}