Pregnant women exposed to PFAS may be at risk of obesity and heart disease later in life

PFAS are man-made chemicals found in food packaging, cookware, clothing, drinking water, personal care products, and many other consumer goods. These endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can affect hormones and cause health problems like obesity, infertility, and cancer.

“Our study supports the notion that pregnancy may be a sensitive period for PFAS exposure because it may be associated with long-term weight gain and subsequent adverse cardiometabolic outcomes in women,” said study first author Jordan Burdeau, PhD, of Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Mass. “Our findings may improve understanding of the impact of PFAS on cardiometabolic health during pregnancy, which in turn could improve early prevention or detection of adverse cardiometabolic outcomes in women.”

Researchers studied 547 pregnant women in their 30s, comparing their PFAS levels during pregnancy with their cardiometabolic health scores at age 50. They found that women with higher levels of PFAS in their blood during early pregnancy weighed more and had more body fat at age 50 than those with lower levels, potentially making them more susceptible to obesity and heart problems later in life.

“It is important to limit exposure to PFAS because it may reduce the risk of health problems later in life,” Burdeau said.

Other study authors include Briana Stephenson, Jorge Chavarro, Emma Preston and Tamarra James-Todd of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health; Shruthi Mahalingaiah of Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts; Marie-France Hivert of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in Boston, Mass. and Massachusetts General Hospital; Emily Oken of Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute; Antonia Calafat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia; Sheryl Rifas-Shiman of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute; and Ami Zota of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York.

Funding for the study came from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.