Mixed Link Seen for Gestational Exposure to Flame-Retardant Chemicals and Childhood Obesity

TUESDAY, Nov. 12, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The association between gestational organophosphate ester (OPE) exposure and obesity in childhood is mixed, according to a study published in the November issue of Environment International.

Alicia K. Peterson, from Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Pleasanton, and colleagues analyzed OPEs in pregnancy urine samples of 5,087 individuals from 14 studies to examine whether OPE levels are associated with the risk for childhood obesity. Body mass index measurements were available for 3,827; 3,921; and 2,541 children in infancy (0.5 to 1.9 years), early childhood (2.0 to 4.9 years), and mid-childhood (5.0 to 10.0 years), respectively.

The researchers found that 16 to 21 percent of children across age groups had obesity. There was an association seen for the composite of dibutyl phosphate and di-isobutyl phosphate second and third versus first tertiles with an increased obesity risk in mid-childhood (relative risks [95 percent confidence intervals], 1.14 [1.02 to 1.28] and 1.11 [0.97 to 1.27], respectively); an inverse association was seen for bis (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate second and third versus first tertiles with obesity risk (relative risks [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.85 [0.80 to 0.91] and 0.91 [0.77 to 1.07], respectively). For bis-(2-propylheptyl)-phthalate, bis(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate, bis(butoxyethyl) phosphate, and bis(2-chloroethyl) phosphate, there were no associations with obesity. In Bayesian kernel machine regression models, directions observed were consistent.

"Overall, our findings suggest a complex interplay between gestational OPE exposure and childhood obesity," the authors write.

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