Environ Int

BackgroundPolybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) reduce serum thyroid hormone concentrations in animal studies, but few studies have examined the impact of early-life PBDE exposures on thyroid hormone disruption in childhood.MethodsWe used data from 162 mother-child pairs from the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment Study (2003\u20132006, Cincinnati, OH). We measured PBDEs in maternal serum at 16 \ub1 3 weeks gestation and in child serum at 1\u20133 years. Thyroid hormones were measured in serum at 3 years. We used multiple informant models to investigate associations between prenatal and early-life PBDE exposures and thyroid hormone levels at age 3 years.ResultsPrenatal PBDEs were associated with decreased thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels at age 3 years. A 10-fold increase in prenatal \u3a3PBDEs (BDE-28, -47, -99, -100, and -153) was associated with a 27.6% decrease (95% CI 1240.8%, 1211.3%) in TSH. A ten-fold increase in prenatal \u3a3PBDEs was associated with a 0.25 pg/mL (0.07, 0.43) increase in free triiodothyronine (FT3). Child sex modified associations between prenatal PBDEs and thyroid hormones, with significant decrements in TSH among females and decreased free T4 (FT4) in males. Prenatal \u3a3PBDEs were not associated with TT4, FT4, or total T3.ConclusionsThese findings suggest an inverse relationship between prenatal \u3a3PBDEs and TSH at 3 years. Associations may be sexually dimorphic, with an inverse relationship between prenatal BDE-47 and -99 and TSH in females and null associations among males.P01 ES011261/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United StatesP30 ES006096/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United StatesR01 ES014575/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United StatesCC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United StatesR01 ES028277/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United StatesT32 ES010957/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United StatesR01 ES020349/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United StatesR01 ES024381/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States2019-08-01T00:00:00Z29787984PMC59975626517vault:3041