The role of cord blood lipidomics in the associations of prenatal exposure to bisphenol A and its analogs with infant growth: A birth cohort study

Prenatal bisphenols (BPs) exposure may affect infant growth, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Based on Shanghai-Minhang Birth Cohort Study, we examined associations of prenatal BPs exposure with cord blood lipidomics and further explored whether lipid profile alterations mediate the associations between BPs and infant growth. We measured 6 BPs in late-pregnancy maternal urine and infant anthropometry at birth, 6, and 12 months. Cord blood lipid metabolites were measured through lipidomics, including fatty acyls (FA), sterol lipids (SL), and glycerophospholipids (GP). Principal components (PCAs) of FA, SL, and GP metabolites were extracted as FA1–3, SL1, and GP1–3, respectively. Multiple linear regression models showed that BPA, BPF, BPS, and BPAF were associated with decreased concentrations of FA, SL, and several GP metabolites (mainly representing GP1), but increased other GP metabolites (mainly representing GP2), while TCBPA showed opposite patterns. Mediation analysis showed that metabolites in arachidonic acid and phosphatidylinositol metabolism pathways mediated the associations between BPA, BPF, BPS and increased infants’ skinfold thickness, with proportions ranging from 18.15 % to 32.47 %. Our findings provide novel evidence that prenatal BPs exposure may disrupt fetal lipid metabolism and highlight the role of arachidonic acid and phosphatidylinositol metabolism in effects of BPs exposure on infant growth.