Background: Infant exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may contribute to obesity. However, many studies so far have been small, focused on transplacental exposure, used an inappropriate measure to assess postnatal exposure through breastfeeding if any, or did not discern between prenatal and postnatal effects.

Objectives: We investigated prenatal and postnatal exposure to POPs and infant growth (a predictor of obesity).

Methods: We pooled data from seven European birth cohorts with biomarker concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl 153 (PCB-153) ( n = 2,487), and p,p ´-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene ( p,p ´-DDE) ( n = 1,864), estimating prenatal and postnatal POPs exposure using a validated pharmacokinetic model. Growth was change in weight-for-age z -score between birth and 24 months. Per compound, multilevel models were fitted with either POPs total exposure from conception to 24 months or prenatal or postnatal exposure.

Results: We found a significant increase in growth associated with p,p ´-DDE, seemingly due to prenatal exposure (per interquartile increase in exposure, adjusted β = 0.12; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.22). Due to heterogeneity across cohorts, this estimate cannot be considered precise, but does indicate that an association with infant growth is present on average. In contrast, a significant decrease in growth was associated with postnatal PCB-153 exposure (β = –0.10; 95% CI: –0.19, –0.01).

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date of POPs exposure and infant growth, and it contains state-of-the-art exposure modeling. Prenatal p,p ´-DDE was associated with increased infant growth, and postnatal PCB-153 with decreased growth at European exposure levels.

Citation: Iszatt N, Stigum H, Verner MA, White RA, Govarts E, Palkovicova Murinova L, Schoeters G, Trnovec T, Legler J, Pelé F, Botton J, Chevrier C, Wittsiepe J, Ranft U, Vandentorren S, Kasper-Sonnenberg M, Klümper C, Weisglas-Kuperus N, Polder A, Eggesbø M, OBELIX. 2015. Prenatal and postnatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants and infant growth: a pooled analysis of seven European birth cohorts. Environ Health Perspect 123:730–736;  http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1308005

Address correspondence to M. Eggesbø, Department of Genes and Environment, Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P.O. Box 4404 Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway. Telephone: 4721708206. E-mail: merete.eggesbo@fhi.no

We thank M.P. Longnecker for his helpful comments to the manuscript. We also thank all the participants for their generous collaboration.

Funding was received from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement OBELIX no. 227391. Duisburg Cohort Study is supported in part by the North Rhine-Westphalia State Agency for Nature, Environment, and Consumer Protection (LANUV-NRW) and by the Federal Environment Agency of Germany (UBA). ELFE study is supported in part by funds from the French Ministries of Research, Health, and Environment and the Institutes of Demographic Studies (Ined), Health and Medical Research (Inserm), and Public Health Surveillance (InVS), and partly through the “Very Large Research Infrastructure” (TGIR) Program. The studies of the Flemish Center of Expertise on Environment and Health were commissioned, financed, and steered by the Ministry of the Flemish Community (Department of Economics, Science, and Innovation; Flemish Agency for Care and Health; and Department of Environment, Nature and Energy). The Norwegian Human Milk Cohort (HUMIS) is supported in part by funds from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement OBELIX no. 227391 and by funds from the Norwegian Research Council’s MILPAAHEL programme, project no. 213148. The Michalovce study was supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, grant R01-CA96525 and in part by the Center of Excellence of Environmental Health, ITMS No. 26240120033, based on the supporting operational research and development program financed by the European Regional Development Fund. The PELAGIE study is supported in part by funds from the National Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS); the Ministry of Labor; and the French Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES). M.A.V. received an Emerging Researcher Fellowship from the Université de Montréal Public Health Research Institute (IRSPUM).

The authors declare they have no actual or potential competing financial interests.

Received: 13 December 2013 Accepted: 3 March 2015 Advance Publication: 6 March 2015 Final Publication: 1 July 2015

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