Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33647299›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental research2021

Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and cognitive development in infancy and toddlerhood.

Jiwon Oh, Rebecca J Schmidt, Daniel Tancredi, Antonia M Calafat, Dorcas L Roa, Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Hyeong-Moo Shin

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed
5.6field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

26 citing papers in PubMed, 69 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Combined Effects of PFAS and Metals on Cognitive Function.Environments (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
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  9. Identifying environmental chemicals impacting neurodevelopment using a random mixture-based screening approach.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2025
    Article
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  20. Evaluation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)Chemical research in toxicology · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Jiwon OhDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas, Arlington, TX, USA.
Rebecca J SchmidtDepartment of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; UC Davis MIND (Medical Investigations of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Daniel TancrediDepartment of Pediatrics, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Antonia M CalafatCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Dorcas L RoaUC Davis MIND (Medical Investigations of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Irva Hertz-PicciottoDepartment of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; UC Davis MIND (Medical Investigations of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Hyeong-Moo ShinDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas, Arlington, TX, USA. Electronic address: hyeongmoo.shin@uta.edu.
The University of Texas at Arlington · USUniversity of California, Davis · USUniversity of California Davis Medical Center · USCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · US

Funding

UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences Core CenterP30ES023513 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI Ameer Taha · 2015 to 2026
$26.0M
UC Davis Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCEH)P01ES011269 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS · PI VAN DE WATER, JUDY A. · 2001 to 2018
$12.5M
Research Project: Pathologic Significance of Maternal AutoantibodiesP50HD103526 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI LEONARD J. ABBEDUTO, Melissa Dawn Bauman · 2020 to 2026
$9.7M
Autism Risk, Prenatal Environmental Exposures, and Pathophysiologic MarkersR01ES020392 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI HERTZ-PICCIOTTO, IRVA, OZONOFF, SALLY · 2011 to 2015
$9.0M
Rodent Behavior CoreU54HD079125 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI HAGERMAN, RANDI J. · 2013 to 2019
$8.5M
BUILDS MARBLES: Biorepository Upkeep and Infrastructure for Longitudinal Data Sharing for MARBLESR24ES028533 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI Brittany D. Chambers Butcher, Rebecca Jean Schmidt · 2017 to 2026
$2.3M
BUILDS MARBLES: Biorepository Upkeep and Infrastructure for Longitudinal Data Sharing for MARBLESU24ES028533 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI CHAMBERS BUTCHER, BRITTANY D., SCHMIDT, REBECCA JEAN · 2023 to 2025
$1.2M
Exposure to Perfluorinated Compounds and Risk for Autism Spectrum DisordersR21ES028131 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ARLINGTON · PI SHIN, HYEONG-MOO · 2017 to 2018
$436k
NICHD NIH HHS P50 HD103526NICHD NIH HHS U54 HD079125NIEHS NIH HHS P01 ES011269NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES023513NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES020392NIEHS NIH HHS R21 ES028131NIEHS NIH HHS R24 ES028533NIEHS NIH HHS U24 ES028533
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivePer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have neurobehavioral toxicity in experimental studies. Evidence on associations between prenatal PFAS exposure and child's cognitive development is inconsistent partly due to differences in assessment time points and tools. We examined associations of prenatal maternal serum PFAS concentrations with child's cognitive development assessed at multiple time points in infancy and toddlerhood.

methodsWe included 140 mother-child pairs from MARBLES (Markers of Autism Risk in Babies - Learning Early Signs), a longitudinal cohort of children with a first degree relative who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder followed from birth. Study children's cognitive development was assessed at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months of age using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) which provides an overall Early Learning Composite (normative mean of 100 and SD of 15) and four subscales (i.e., fine motor, visual reception, receptive language, and expressive language abilities; normative mean of 50 and SD of 10). Nine PFAS were quantified in maternal serum collected during pregnancy. We examined associations of log 2-transformed prenatal maternal serum PFAS concentrations with the MSEL Composite and each of the subscale scores at each time point as well as longitudinal changes in the scores over the four time points. We also classified trajectories into low- and high-score groups and fit Poisson regression models to estimate associations expressed as relative risks (RR).

resultsAmong six PFAS detected in more than 60% of the samples, prenatal maternal serum perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) was inversely associated with child's Composite score at 24 months (β = -5.22, 95% CI: -8.27, -2.17) and 36 months of age (β = -5.18, 95% CI: -9.46, -0.91), while other five PFAS were not strongly associated with Composite score at any time points. When assessing longitudinal changes in the scores over the four time points, PFOA was associated with trajectories having a negative slope for Composite scores and all four subscales. When examining trajectories of the scores between low- and high-score groups, PFOA was associated with having lower and/or decreasing Composite scores (RR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.09, 2.03).

conclusionsPrenatal PFOA appears to adversely affect child's cognitive development in toddlerhood in this study population. Because a large fraction of MARBLES children is at risk for atypical development, population-based studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Indexed as

Alkanesulfonic AcidsAutism Spectrum DisorderEnvironmental PollutantsFluorocarbonsPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsChildCognitionFemaleHumansInfantPregnancyAlkanesulfonic AcidsEnvironmental PollutantsFluorocarbonsCognitive functionPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substancesPrenatal exposureSerum

Identifiers

PMID33647299
PMCPMC8119322
OpenAlexW3134781194

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.