Abstract
Background: Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) may increase risk of pediatric asthma, but existing human studies are limited. Objectives: We estimated associations between gestational PAHs and pediatric asthma in a diverse US sample and evaluated effect modification by child sex, maternal asthma, and prenatal vitamin D status. Methods: We pooled two prospective pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO PATHWAYS Consortium, CANDLE and TIDES, for an analytic sample of N = 1296 mother–child dyads. Mono-hydroxylated PAH metabolites (OH-PAHs) were measured in mid-pregnancy urine. Mothers completed the International Study on Allergies and Asthma in Childhood survey at child age 4–6 years. Poisson regression with robust standard errors was used to estimate relative risk of current wheeze, current asthma, ever asthma, and strict asthma associated with each metabolite, adjusted for potential confounders. We used interaction models to assess effect modification. We explored associations between OH-PAH mixtures and outcomes using logistic weighted quantile sum regression augmented by a permutation test to control Type 1 errors. Results: The sociodemographically diverse sample spanned five cities. Mean (SD) child age at assessment was 4.4 (0.4) years. While there was little evidence that either individual OH-PAHs or mixtures were associated with outcomes, we observed effect modification by child sex for most pairs of OH-PAHs and outcomes, with adverse associations specific to females. For example, a 2-fold increase in 2-hydroxy-phenanthrene was associated with current asthma in females but not males (RRfemale = 1.29 [95 % CI: 1.09, 1.52], RRmale = 0.95 [95 % CI: 0.79, 1.13]; pinteraction = 0.004). There was no consistent evidence of modification by vitamin D status or maternal asthma. Discussion: This analysis, the largest cohort study of gestational PAH exposure and childhood asthma to date, suggests adverse associations for females only. These preliminary findings are consistent with hypothesized endocrine disruption properties of PAHs, which may lead to sexually dimorphic effects.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 107494 |
Journal | Environment international |
Volume | 170 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:ECHO PATHWAYS is funded by NIH ( UG3/UH3OD023271 , P30ES007033 , and P30ES005022 ). The Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) study was funded by the Urban Child Institute. The TIDES study was funded by NIH R01ES016863 and P30ES005022 and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Intramural Funding (ZIA10331): Reproductive outcomes and oxidative stress in TIDES (ROOST). Dr. Kannan analyzed OH-PAH metabolites in TIDES with support from the New York University ECHO Cohort Center (NIH UG3/UH3OD023305 [PI: Leonardo Trasande]). Dr. Marnie Hazlehurst was supported in part by the UW NIEHS sponsored Biostatistics, Epidemiologic and Bioinformatic Training in Environmental Health (BEBTEH) Training Grant: NIEHS T32ES015459. We are grateful for the participation of families enrolled in the CANDLE and TIDES cohorts, as well as the dedication of research staff and investigators. This manuscript has been reviewed by PATHWAYS for scientific content and consistency of data interpretation with previous PATHWAYS publications. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Funding Information:
ECHO PATHWAYS is funded by NIH (UG3/UH3OD023271, P30ES007033, and P30ES005022). The Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) study was funded by the Urban Child Institute. The TIDES study was funded by NIH R01ES016863 and P30ES005022 and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Intramural Funding (ZIA10331): Reproductive outcomes and oxidative stress in TIDES (ROOST). Dr. Kannan analyzed OH-PAH metabolites in TIDES with support from the New York University ECHO Cohort Center (NIH UG3/UH3OD023305 [PI: Leonardo Trasande]). Dr. Marnie Hazlehurst was supported in part by the UW NIEHS sponsored Biostatistics, Epidemiologic and Bioinformatic Training in Environmental Health (BEBTEH) Training Grant: NIEHS T32ES015459. We are grateful for the participation of families enrolled in the CANDLE and TIDES cohorts, as well as the dedication of research staff and investigators. This manuscript has been reviewed by PATHWAYS for scientific content and consistency of data interpretation with previous PATHWAYS publications. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022
Keywords
- Airway
- Endocrine disruption
- Mixtures
- Pediatric asthma
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons