SynthesisEnvironmental health perspectives2020
Early Life Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and ADHD: A Meta-Analysis of Nine European Population-Based Studies.
Synthesis in Environmental health perspectives, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses Evaluating Associations between Human Health and Exposure to Major Classes of Plastic-Associated Chemicals.Annals of global health · 2024Pooled it
- Public health evaluation of PFAS exposures and breastfeeding: a systematic literature review.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2023Pooled it
- The Association between Prenatal Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Exposure and Neurobehavioral Problems in Offspring: A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Human Evidence of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Exposure on Hepatic Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Association of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure with cognitive function in firefighters.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Stress-activated pathways mediate PFAS effects on human placental syncytiotrophoblast cells.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2026Article
- Impact of antenatal exposure to a mixture of endocrine disruptors on attentional and executive functions in children.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2026Article
- Toxicokinetic Profiling and Developmental Toxicity of Long-Chain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Zebrafish.Environmental science & technology · 2025Article
- Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) antagonizes gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors in larval zebrafish and mammalian models.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2025Article
- Individual and mixture associations of placental per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance with neurodevelopment at 12 and 24 months of age.Environmental advances · 2025Article
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- Paternal and Maternal Exposures to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Child Behavioral Difficulties: A Parental Comparison Study.Environmental science & technology · 2025Article
- Effects of Early-life PFAS Exposure on Child Neurodevelopment: A Review of the Evidence and Research gaps.Current environmental health reports · 2025Review
- Persistent pollutants and the developing brain: the role of PFAS in neurodevelopmental disorders.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025Review
- Association of premature birth and maternal education level on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children: A meta-analysis.World journal of psychiatry · 2024Article
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- Endocrine Disruptors in Pregnancy: Effects on Mothers and Fetuses-A Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
19 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionTo date, the evidence for an association between perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is inconclusive.
objectiveWe investigated the association between early life exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and ADHD in a collaborative study including nine European population-based studies, encompassing 4,826 mother-child pairs.
methodsConcentrations of PFOS and PFOA were measured in maternal serum/plasma during pregnancy, or in breast milk, with different timing of sample collection in each cohort. We used a validated pharmacokinetic model of pregnancy and lactation to estimate concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in children at birth and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months of age. We classified ADHD using recommended cutoff points for each instrument used to derive symptoms scores. We used multiple imputation for missing covariates, logistic regression to model the association between PFAS exposure and ADHD in each study, and combined all adjusted study-specific effect estimates using random-effects meta-analysis.
resultsA total of 399 children were classified as having ADHD, with a prevalence ranging from 2.3% to 7.3% in the studies. Early life exposure to PFOS or PFOA was not associated with ADHD during childhood [odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 0.96 (95% CI: 0.87, 1.06) to 1.02 (95% CI: 0.93, 1.11)]. Results from stratified models suggest potential differential effects of PFAS related to child sex and maternal education.
conclusionWe did not identify an increased prevalence of ADHD in association with early life exposure to PFOS and PFOA. However, stratified analyses suggest that there may be an increased prevalence of ADHD in association with PFAS exposure in girls, in children from nulliparous women, and in children from low-educated mothers, all of which warrant further exploration. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5444.
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