Prenatal exposure to chemicals forever associated with higher blood pressure

Children exposed before birth to synthetic compounds called “Forever Chemicals” had higher blood pressure during their teenage years, according to a new study published today in The Journal of the American Heart UnionAn open access is evaluated by Journal of the American Heart Association. The study is also presented today at the Conference of the Epidemiological Research Society (SER) in Boston.

The association between the prenatal exposure to chemicals forever and increased blood pressure was more intense among boys and children born to non -Spanish black mothers.

Substances by polycarl or PFAS are a large group of chemicals used to make water resistant products and stains. People are more exposed to PFAS through drinking water, food and home products such as food packaging, cookware, stain -fabrics and carpets and personal care products. They are called “Forever Chemicals” because they do not collapse easily and can be created in the environment or body over time.

According to previous research, almost everyone in the world is exposed to PFAS through what they eat or drink, breathe or absorb through the skin. In addition, PFAs can also affect the rapidly growing fetus, a particularly sensitive time for exposure to toxic pollutants.

Previous studies have also noted that high blood pressure in children has increased worldwide between 2000 and 2015, increasing the future risk of heart disease and stroke.

This is one of the first research on the association between the prenatal exposure to chemicals forever and the blood pressure from offspring from early childhood to adolescence between a racial and ethnic population. The study evaluated the correlations of prenatal pfas exhibitions with blood pressure from the child’s life stage, gender and parent breed/nationality.

Our study shows that the exposure to prenatal PFAS is associated with higher blood pressure later in childhood, especially during adolescence. This suggests that these chemicals can forever have long and potentially harmful effects that can be obvious years after birth. “

Zeyu Li, MSPH, Head writer and postgraduate student researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore

The study was followed by 1,094 children from the Boston Birth Group in 12 years old, which were analyzed in combination with more than 13,000 blood pressure readings taken on usual pediatric visits.

Among the children whose mothers had higher concentrations forever chemicals in blood samples collected after delivery, the analysis found:

• As the levels of chemicals known as PFDEA, PFNA and PFUNA doubled, the systolic (higher) blood pressure was between 1.39 and 2.78cm higher and the diastolic (minimum) blood pressure was between 1.22 to 2,54 cm.
• As these levels of these chemicals doubled, the risk of increased blood pressure increased by 6% to 8% for boys and children born to non -Spanish black mothers.
• Unexpectedly, some chemicals forever (including me-pfosa-acoh, pfhps, pfhxs, pfoa and pfos) were associated with lower diastolic (bottom) blood pressure in early childhood. However, these compounds did not insist as the children grew up in adolescence.

“We hope that our findings encourage more researchers to follow children in adolescence and beyond,” Lee said. “Many previous studies have stopped early or in the middle of the child, but our study shows that the health effects of the PFAS prenatal report may not occur until the years of teenagers.”

While people can try to limit their exposure – by choosing products without PFAS or cookware – significant changes to reduce daily PFAS reports requires policy -level action, the researchers said.

Our results enhance the need for stronger environmental protection. Reducing exposure to PFA – especially during pregnancy and children – requires policy -level action to limit and gradually abolish PFA in consumer products and industrial uses and to enhance the monitoring and regulation of PFAS in water systems. This is not something that individuals can solve on their own. ”

Mingyu Zhang, Ph.D., MHS, Faha, Higher Author of the Study and Assistant Professor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School

Justin Zachariah, MD, MPH, Faha, president of the scientific statement of the Union of 2024 Environmental Reports and Pediatric Cardiology of Scientific Declaration, said: “We must remember that these chemicals have been in our body for years, suggesting that they may have been presenting that they may have been presenting that they may have been presenting that they may have been. the front for generations.

The scientific statement summarizes examples of ubiquitous environmental toxist and pollutants, including the chemicals studied by Zhang et al., And their associations with increasingly popular precursors and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, kidney disease.

Zachariah, who did not participate in Zhang et. Al, is an Associate Professor of Pediatric Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and medical director of the cardiovascular clinical research core at the Texas Children’s Hospital. He noted that chemicals can affect hormones and disrupt the usual development of adolescents, perhaps including blood pressure. It is already known that boys and black children are at higher risk of increased blood pressure and exposure to these chemicals can contribute to this higher risk, he said.

“If the breed indicates a socio -economic disadvantage, the steadily processed in shelf, packaged foods are more likely to have exposure to PFAS from fresh foods,” Zachariah said. “In addition, children may have lifestyles that expose them to everyday objects that are burdened with these chemicals, such as the toys they can chew, rain jackets, camping scenes and more.”

It urges all adults to take actions such as water filtering and changing cooking tools. Improved product labeling could also inform consumers about PFAS content so that they can make healthier choices about exposure to chemicals forever.

Study restrictions include that exposure to PFAS was measured using a sample of blood only by the mother received within three days after delivery and that fewer children had blood pressure measurements during adolescence compared to previous childhood.

Study details, background and design:

• Boston’s birth team is a continuous study that includes a low -income population. Since 2004, Boston’s birth team followed 3,416 mother-child pairs.

• Women who gave infant without significant genetic abnormalities at Boston Medical Center were eligible to include. In this analysis, 61% of participants referred to as non -Spanish black mothers, 22% as Spanish mothers and 17% as “other race/nationality”, which included white women, Asian women, women from the Verde cape or the Pacific islands.

• At the time of delivery, mothers were an average age of 29 years.

• This analysis included 13,404 measurements of blood pressure from 1,094 mother-of-child pairs, with mother-blooded PFAS data and at least one child blood pressure measurement between the ages of 3 and 18 years.

• Blood was tested for levels of eight types of chemicals: 2- (N-methyl-ferflourocetan sulfonamid) acetic acid (ME-PFOSA-SAHOH), Perfluorodecanoic Acid (PFDEA), Hyperfosite (PFHPS); Hyperfthoronanoic acid (PFNA); Hyperphthorocetanic acid (PFOA), hyperfo -hyperfoimennesulphonic acid (PFOS) and hypertension -acute acid (PFUNA).

• Researchers have noted a stronger correlation between prenatal exhibitions in hyperfoinic acid (PFDEA) and hyperfointecanoic acid (PFUNA) with higher blood pressure and a risk of increased blood pressure in adolescence between male children and non -children.

• Blood pressure measurements were collected during children’s pediatric visits from July 2001 to February 2024. These visits have often occurred for children aged 3 to 5 years, 6 to 12 and 13 to 18 years.

• Analyzes were adapted to examine maternal health, delivery method, socio -economic factors and the weekly consumption of mother’s fish (because fish are a source of exposure to PFAS in general populations).