Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure during pregnancy and child anthropometry from birth to 10 years of age : Sex-specific evidence from a cohort study in rural Bangladesh

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have endocrine disrupting properties and they cross the placental barrier, but studies on gestational exposure and child anthropometry are inconclusive. We aimed to elucidate the impact of early gestational PAH exposure on anthropometry from birth to 10 years of age in 1295 mother-child pairs from a nested sub-cohort of the MINIMat trial in Bangladesh. Several PAH metabolites [1- hydroxyphenanthrene (1-OH-Phe), E2-,3-hydroxyphenanthrene (E2-,3-OH-Phe), 4-hydroxyphenanthrene (4- OH-Phe), 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OH-Pyr), E2-,3-hydroxyfluorene (E2-,3-OH-Flu)] were quantified in spot urine collected around gestational week 8 using LC-MS/MS. Child weight and height were measured at 19 occasions from birth to 10 years. Multivariable-adjusted regression models were used to assess associations of maternal PAH metabolites (log2-transformed) with child anthropometry. The median concentration of 1-OH-Phe, E2-,3- OH-Phe, 4-OH-Phe, 1-OH-Pyr and E2-,3-OH-Flu was 1.5, 1.9, 0.14, 2.5, and 2.0 ng/mL, respectively. All maternal urinary PAH metabolites were positively associated with newborn weight and length and all associations were more pronounced in boys than in girls (p interaction for all