Prenatal Exposure to Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (2009-2014) and Vaccine Antibody Titers of Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella in Children Four to Eight Years Old from the Healthy Start Cohort
By Lauren M Zell-Baran, Dana Dabelea, Jill M Norris, Deborah H Glueck, John L Adgate, Jared M Brown, Kylie K Harrall, Antonia M Calafat, and Anne P Starling
Environ Health Perspect
December 26, 2023
DOI: 10.1289/EHP12863
Background
Prenatal exposures to certain poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are associated with reduced humoral responses to some childhood immunizations.
Objective
We estimated associations between prenatal PFAS exposure and child antibody titers for measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), and varicella after immunization.
Methods
We measured serum antibody titers of 145 children (4-8 y old) enrolled in the Healthy Start cohort in Colorado, whose mothers had PFAS quantified mid-pregnancy (2009-2014). We used linear and logistic regression models to assess the relationship between five PFAS detected in of mothers and continuous or non-high-censored ("low") antibody titers and quantile g-computation to evaluate the overall effect of the PFAS mixture.
Results
Median concentrations of individual PFAS were at or below the median reported among females in the United States. After receiving two vaccine doses, seropositive levels of antibodies were detected among most (93%-100%) children. Each log-unit increase in perfluorononanoate was associated with 2.09 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13, 3.87] times higher odds of a low measles titer, and each log-unit increase in perfluorooctanoate was associated with 2.46 (95% CI: 1.28, 4.75) times higher odds of a low mumps titer. Odds ratios for all other PFAS were elevated, but CIs included the null. Each quartile increase in the PFAS mixture was associated with 1.35 (95% CI: 0.80, 2.26) times higher odds of a low measles titer and 1.44 (95% CI: 0.78, 2.64) times higher odds of a low mumps titer. No significant associations were observed between PFAS and varicella or rubella antibodies. In stratified analyses, associations were negative among female children, except for perfluorohexane sulfonate and varicella, whereas they were positive among males.
Discussion
Some prenatal PFAS were associated with lower antibody titers among fully immunized children. The potential for immunotoxic effects of PFAS requires further investigation in a larger study, because exposure is ubiquitous globally. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12863.
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