Associations of Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardant Exposures during Pregnancy with Gestational Duration and Fetal Growth: The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program
Jiwon Oh, Jessie P. Buckley, Xuan Li, Kennedy K. Gachigi, Kurunthachalam Kannan, Wenjie Lyu, Jennifer Ames, Emily S. Barrett, Theresa M. Bastain, Carrie V. Breton, Claudia Buß, Lisa Croen, Anne L. Dunlop, Assiamira Ferrara, Akhgar Ghassabian, Julie B. Herbstman, Ixel Hernandez‐Castro, Irva Hertz‐Picciotto, Linda G. Kahn, Margaret R. Karagas, Jordan R. Kuiper, Cindy T. McEvoy, John D. Meeker, Rachel Morello‐Frosch, Amy Padula, Megan E. Romano, Sheela Sathyanarayana, Susan L. Schantz, Rebecca J. Schmidt, Hyagriv N. Simhan, Anne P. Starling, Frances A. Tylavsky, Heather E. Volk, Tracey J. Woodruff, Yeyi Zhu, Deborah H. Bennett, program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Widespread exposure to organophosphate ester (OPE) flame retardants with potential reproductive toxicity raises concern regarding the impacts of gestational exposure on birth outcomes. Previous studies of prenatal OPE exposure and birth outcomes had limited sample sizes, with inconclusive results. OBJECTIVES: We conducted a collaborative analysis of associations between gestational OPE exposures and adverse birth outcomes and tested whether associations were modified by sex. METHODS: -transformed continuous, categorized (high/low/nondetect), or dichotomous (detect/nondetect) variables depending on detection frequency. We used covariate-adjusted linear, logistic, and multinomial regression with generalized estimating equations, accounting for cohort-level clustering, to estimate associations of OPE biomarkers with gestational length and birth weight outcomes. Secondarily, we assessed effect modification by sex. RESULTS: ); other chemicals showed null associations. DISCUSSION: In the largest study to date, we find gestational exposures to several OPEs are associated with earlier timing of birth, especially among female neonates, or with greater fetal growth. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13182.