Hannah E Laue, Yuka Moroishi, Thomas J Palys, Brock C Christensen, Rachel L Criswell, Lisa A Peterson, Carin A Huset, Emily R Baker, Margaret R Karagas, Juliette C Madan, Megan E Romano
{"title":"Early-life exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and infant gut microbial composition.","authors":"Hannah E Laue, Yuka Moroishi, Thomas J Palys, Brock C Christensen, Rachel L Criswell, Lisa A Peterson, Carin A Huset, Emily R Baker, Margaret R Karagas, Juliette C Madan, Megan E Romano","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000238","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Human milk is rich in essential nutrients and immune-activating compounds but is also a source of toxicants including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Evidence suggests that immune-related effects of PFAS may, in part, be due to alterations of the microbiome. We aimed to identify the association between milk PFAS exposure and the infant gut microbiome.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>PFAS [perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA)] were quantified in milk from ~6 weeks postpartum using high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. A molar sum (ΣPFAS) was calculated. Caregivers collected infant stool samples at 6 weeks (n = 116) and/or 1 year postpartum (n = 119). Stool DNA underwent metagenomic sequencing. We estimated the association of PFAS with diversity and relative abundances of species with linear regression. Single- and multi-PFAS models adjusted for potential confounders in complete case analyses and with imputed missing covariate data for 6-week and 1-year microbiomes separately. We assessed sensitive populations with stratification.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>PFOS and PFOA were detected in 94% and 83% of milk samples, respectively. PFOS was associated with increased diversity at 6 weeks among infants fed exclusively human milk [β = 0.24 per PFOS doubling, (95% CI = 0.03, 0.45), <i>P</i> = 0.03] and born to primiparous mothers [β = 0.37 (0.06, 0.67), <i>P</i> = 0.02]. Estimates were strongest in multi-PFAS models and among complete cases. ΣPFAS was associated with <i>Bacteroides vulgatus</i> relative abundance at 1 year [(β = -2.34% per doubling (-3.63, -1.05), FDR q = 0.099].</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>PFAS may increase infant gut microbiome diversity and alter the relative abundance of biologically relevant bacteria. Additional analyses may identify related health outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2022-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/00/cd/ee9-7-e238.PMC9916123.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Epidemiology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000238","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/2/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Human milk is rich in essential nutrients and immune-activating compounds but is also a source of toxicants including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Evidence suggests that immune-related effects of PFAS may, in part, be due to alterations of the microbiome. We aimed to identify the association between milk PFAS exposure and the infant gut microbiome.
Methods: PFAS [perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA)] were quantified in milk from ~6 weeks postpartum using high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. A molar sum (ΣPFAS) was calculated. Caregivers collected infant stool samples at 6 weeks (n = 116) and/or 1 year postpartum (n = 119). Stool DNA underwent metagenomic sequencing. We estimated the association of PFAS with diversity and relative abundances of species with linear regression. Single- and multi-PFAS models adjusted for potential confounders in complete case analyses and with imputed missing covariate data for 6-week and 1-year microbiomes separately. We assessed sensitive populations with stratification.
Results: PFOS and PFOA were detected in 94% and 83% of milk samples, respectively. PFOS was associated with increased diversity at 6 weeks among infants fed exclusively human milk [β = 0.24 per PFOS doubling, (95% CI = 0.03, 0.45), P = 0.03] and born to primiparous mothers [β = 0.37 (0.06, 0.67), P = 0.02]. Estimates were strongest in multi-PFAS models and among complete cases. ΣPFAS was associated with Bacteroides vulgatus relative abundance at 1 year [(β = -2.34% per doubling (-3.63, -1.05), FDR q = 0.099].
Conclusions: PFAS may increase infant gut microbiome diversity and alter the relative abundance of biologically relevant bacteria. Additional analyses may identify related health outcomes.