BACKGROUND Fetal programming of the endocrine system may be affected by exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAAs), as they easily cross the placental barrier. In vitro studies suggest that PFAAs may disrupt steroidogenesis. "Mini puberty" refers to a transient surge in circulating androgens, androgen precursors, and gonadotropins in infant girls and boys within the first postnatal months. We hypothesize that prenatal PFAA exposure may decrease the concentrations of androgens in mini puberty. OBJECTIVES To investigate associations between maternal serum PFAA concentrations in early pregnancy and serum concentrations of androgens, their precursors, and gonadotropins during mini puberty in infancy. METHODS In the prospective Odense Child Cohort, maternal pregnancy serum concentrations of five PFAAs: Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) were measured at median gestational week 12 (IQR: 10, 15) in 1628 women. Among these, offspring serum concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS), androstenedione, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), testosterone, luteinizing (LH) and follicle stimulating hormones (FSH) were measured in 373 children (44% girls; 56% boys) at a mean age of 3.9 (±0.9 SD) months. Multivariate linear regression models were performed to estimate associations. RESULTS A two-fold increase in maternal PFDA concentration was associated with a reduction in DHEA concentration by -19.6% (95% CI: -32.9%, -3.8%) in girls. In girls, also, the androstenedione and DHEAS concentrations were decreased, albeit non-significantly (p < 0.11), with a two-fold increase in maternal PFDA concentration. In boys, no significant association was found between PFAAs and concentrations of androgens, their precursors, and gonadotropins during mini puberty. CONCLUSION Prenatal PFDA exposure was associated with significantly lower serum DHEA concentrations and possibly also with lower androstenedione and DHEAS concentrations in female infants at mini puberty. The clinical significance of these findings remains to be elucidated.

中文翻译：

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产前暴露于全氟癸酸与人类女婴迷你青春期降低的肾上腺类固醇代谢产物的循环浓度有关。欧登塞儿童队列。

背景技术由于暴露于全氟烷基物质（PFAA），内分泌系统的胎儿程序设计可能会受到影响，因为它们很容易越过胎盘屏障。体外研究表明，PFAA可能会破坏类固醇生成。“小青春期”是指出生后头几个月婴儿和男孩中循环雄激素，雄激素前体和促性腺激素的短暂增加。我们假设产前PFAA暴露可能会降低迷你青春期雄激素的浓度。目的探讨孕早期母体血清PFAA浓度与婴儿小青春期期间雄激素，其前体和促性腺激素的浓度之间的关系。方法在预期的欧登塞儿童队列中，孕妇妊娠血清中五种PFAA的浓度为：在1628位妇女的妊娠中位数第12周（IQR：10、15）对全氟己烷磺酸（PFHxS），全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS），全氟辛酸（PFOA），全氟壬酸（PFNA）和全氟癸酸（PFDA）进行了测量。其中，在373名儿童中测量了脱氢表雄酮（DHEA），硫酸脱氢表雄酮（DHEAS），雄烯二酮，17-羟基孕酮（17-OHP），睾丸激素，促黄体生成素（LH）和促卵泡激素（FSH）的子代血清浓度（44） ％的女孩； 56％的男孩）的平均年龄为3.9（±0.9 SD）个月。进行多元线性回归模型以估计相关性。结果孕产妇PFDA浓度增加两倍，使女孩的DHEA浓度降低-19.6％（95％CI：-32.9％，-3.8％）。同样在女孩中 雄烯二酮和DHEAS浓度降低，尽管无统计学意义（p <0.11），但孕妇PFDA浓度增加了两倍。在男孩中，迷你青春期期间PFAA与雄激素，其前体和促性腺激素的浓度之间未发现显着关联。结论产前PFDA暴露与小青春期女婴的血清DHEA浓度明显降低有关，也可能与雄烯二酮和DHEAS浓度降低有关。这些发现的临床意义尚待阐明。和青春期的促性腺激素。结论产前PFDA暴露与小青春期女婴的血清DHEA浓度明显降低有关，也可能与雄烯二酮和DHEAS浓度降低有关。这些发现的临床意义尚待阐明。和青春期的促性腺激素。结论产前PFDA暴露与小青春期女婴的血清DHEA浓度明显降低有关，也可能与雄烯二酮和DHEAS浓度降低有关。这些发现的临床意义尚待阐明。