Prenatal EDC exposures and biomarkers of the chronic stress response

Background: Humans are widely exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) through consumer products, foods, and cosmetics. EDCs may interact with the glucocorticoid receptor; however associations between EDCs and the chronic stress response have not been well studied in humans. Chronic stress, which can manifest itself through inflammation, can contribute to adverse health outcomes during pregnancy including poor birth outcomes.Objective: We investigated associations between prenatal exposures to persistent EDCs and biomarkers of the inflammatory response in women during pregnancy and the postpartum period.Methodology: We used data from a cohort recruited from the San Francisco Bay area. The majority of the study participants were non-white, low-income pregnant women that are overweight or obese. Blood samples were collected during early pregnancy and at 3 and 9 months postpartum. Serum concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) analytes, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and organochlorine pesticide analytes, and perfluorochemicals (PFCs) were measured during early pregnancy. Serum concentrations of interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 10 (IL-10), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) were measured at all three time points. Multivariable linear regression models were used to investigate the cross-sectional relationship between EDC exposure and inflammation biomarker levels. Longitudinal associations were examined with mixed models using IL-6, IL-10, TNF, and CRH measurements from all three time points.Results: In the cross-sectional analyses, we observed positive associations between PBDE-47, PBDE-99, and PBDE-100 concentrations and IL-6 and TNF during early pregnancy (pConclusions: These findings suggest that exposure to specific EDCs is associated with increased inflammation among pregnant women during early pregnancy and the postpartum period. This study is one of the first to investigate the relationship between exposure to EDCs and biomarkers of chronic stress. Our findings may shed insight on mechanisms of EDC toxicity.