Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphate Pesticides and Infant Growth: the Mother-Child Cohort PELAGIE (France)

BACKGROUND: Rapid weight gain during the first months of life is a predictor for later obesity. Prenatal exposure to ‘obesogenic’ chemicals may contribute to the obesity epidemic. Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) have shown such potential in animals but their impact in humans has not yet been examined. This study aimed at exploring the effect of prenatal exposure to OPs on infant growth. METHODS: This study was based on the mother-child cohort PELAGIE. It included 214 mother-child pairs with measurements of dimethyl (DM) and diethyl phosphates (DE), nonspecific metabolites of OPs measured in maternal urine collected at the beginning of pregnancy, and growth data (weight and height) collected from birth to 30 months. Maternal urinary levels of DM and DE were categorized as low, medium or high. Modeling of individual growth curves (Jenss–Bayley model) allowed to predict weight, height and growth velocities at specific time points (3, 6, 12 and 24 months). The association between prenatal exposure to OPs and...