Association of prenatal exposure to PCDD/Fs and PCBs with maternal and infant thyroid hormones: The Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health

Highlights: • Median concentration of total TEQs in maternal serums (n = 386) was 13.8 pg/g lipid weight. • Prenatal exposure to dioxin-like contaminants was positively associated with neonatal FT4, but not associated with TSH. • Total PCBs or non-dioxin-like PCBs exposure had no significant association with any maternal or neonatal thyroid hormones. Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants that are universally detected. Some congeners of PCDDs, PCDFs or PCBs have dioxin-like toxicity, whereas non-dioxin-like PCBs are considered to have different toxicity. Reports of the relationships between prenatal exposure to PCDDs, PCDFs or PCBs and thyroid homeostasis in pregnant women and infants have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal serum PCDD/F or PCB levels on maternal and neonatal thyroid hormone (TH) levels in a prospective cohort. Of the 514 subjects in the prospective cohort, 386 mothers and 410 infants were included for analysis. Fifteen dioxins and seventy PCBs in maternal blood collected between 23 and 41 weeks of gestation were measured using high-resolution gas chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Blood samples to measure thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4) levels were obtained from mothers at an early gestational stage (median ten weeks), and from infants between four and seven days of age, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted. Median concentration of total PCBs, PCB 153 were 104,700, and 20,500 pg/g lipid, respectively. Median total dioxin-TEQ was 13.8 pg/g lipid. Total dioxin-TEQ, coplanar PCBs were positively associated with neonatal FT4 (beta = 0.224, 0.206, respectively). The association was stronger in boys (beta = 0.299, 0.282, respectively). Several PCDD/F and PCB isomers were also positively associated with neonatal FT4. Total PCBs or non-dioxin-like PCBs were not associated with any maternal or neonatal THs. No DLC grouping or congeners were associated with neonatal TSH. Non-ortho PCBs were positively associated with maternal FT4. Three PCB congeners had significant positive association(s) with maternal THs. In conclusion, the results of our study suggest that perinatal exposure to background-level DLCs increases neonatal FT4, especially in boys.