{"doi":"10.1016/j.envint.2023.108087","title":"Maternal co-exposure to mercury and perfluoroalkyl acid isomers and their associations with child neurodevelopment in a Canadian birth cohort","abstract":"BACKGROUND: Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) within the broader class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are present in human serum as isomer mixtures, but epidemiological studies have yet to address isomer-specific associations with child development and behavior. OBJECTIVES: To examine associations between prenatal exposure to 25 PFAAs, including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) isomers, and child neurodevelopment among 490 mother-child pairs in a prospective Canadian birth cohort, the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study. To consider the influence of a classic neurotoxicant, total mercury (THg), based on its likelihood of co-exposure with PFAAs from common dietary sources. METHODS: Maternal blood samples were collected in the second trimester and child neurodevelopment was assessed at 2 years of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd Edition (Bayley-III). Linear or curvilinear multiple regression models were used to examine associations between exposures and neurodevelopment outcomes. RESULTS: Select PFAAs were associated with lower Cognitive composite scores, including perfluoroheptanoate (PFHpA) (β = -0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.7, -0.06) and perfluorododecanoate (PFDoA) (β = -2.0, 95% CI: -3.9, -0.01). Non-linear relationships revealed associations of total PFOS (β = -4.4, 95% CI: -8.3, -0.43), and linear-PFOS (β = -4.0, 95% CI: -7.5, -0.57) and 1m-PFOS (β = -1.8, 95% CI: -3.3, -0.24) isomers with lower Language composite scores. Although there was no effect modification, including THg interaction terms in PFAA models revealed negative associations between perfluorononanoate (PFNA) and Motor (β = -3.3, 95% CI: -6.2, -0.33) and Social-Emotional (β = -3.0, 95% CI: -5.6, -0.40) composite scores. DISCUSSION: These findings reinforce previous reports of adverse effects of maternal PFAA exposure during pregnancy on child neurodevelopment. The unique hazards posed from isomers of PFOS justify isomer-specific analysis in future studies. To control for possible confounding, mercury co-exposure may be considered in studies of PFAAs.","journal":"Environment International","year":2023,"id":326207,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":29,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9367,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2023-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1045084,"name":"Morteza Hajihosseini","orcid":"0000-0002-3303-5395","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":694141,"name":"Irina Dinu","orcid":"0000-0001-6925-623X","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":694142,"name":"Catherine J. Field","orcid":"0000-0001-7285-4767","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":468699,"name":"David W. Kinniburgh","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":467895,"name":"Amy M. MacDonald","orcid":"0000-0001-7031-8952","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":460931,"name":"Deborah Dewey","orcid":"0000-0002-1323-5832","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":467893,"name":"Gillian England-Mason","orcid":"0000-0003-0633-5963","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":467894,"name":"Jonathan W. Martin","orcid":"0000-0001-6265-4294","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":851035,"name":"Anthony Reardon","orcid":"0000-0002-7124-1229","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":94,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T01:08:33.106703Z","pmid":"37454627","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}