Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl acids and allergic diseases in early childhood

• Risk of allergic diseases in infants decreased with prenatal PFAA exposure.
• Prenatal exposure to PFTrDA was associated with a decrease of eczema in infants.
• Gender differences observed between prenatal PFAA exposure and allergic diseases
• These findings were observed among female infants.

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are persistent organic pollutants that are detected in humans worldwide. Laboratory animal studies have shown that PFAAs are associated with immunotoxic effects. However, epidemiological studies investigating the role of PFAAs, in particular PFAAs with longer chains than perfluorooctanoic acid, are scarce. We investigated associations between prenatal exposure to PFAAs, including long-chain compounds, and infant allergic diseases at 12 and 24 months in a large study population. The participants included mothers and their infants who enrolled in the Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health 2003–2009. Eleven PFAAs were measured in maternal plasma taken at 28–32 weeks of gestation using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry. Characteristics of participants and information on infant allergic diseases were obtained from self-administered questionnaires and medical records. At 24 months, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) (first vs. fourth quartiles) for eczema in association with higher maternal perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA) levels was 0.62 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45, 0.86). After stratification by gender, the adjusted ORs in female infants from mothers with higher maternal perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) and PFTrDA levels were also statistically significant (PFUnDA: OR = 0.50; 95% CI, 0.30, 0.81; PFTrDA: OR = 0.39; 95% CI, 0.23, 0.64). Our findings suggest that lower prenatal exposure to PFTrDA may decrease the risk of developing eczema in early childhood, only in female infants.