Nina Holland
University of California, USA
Title: Obesity in children: New data on epigenetic and other molecular mechanisms related to prenatal exposure to endocrine disruptors from CHAMACOS birth cohort study
Biography
Biography: Nina Holland
Abstract
The prospective nature of birth cohort studies and wealth of epidemiological data and biological samples provide unique opportunities to address effects of early life exposures on health outcomes later in life. The obesity epidemic in the United States and other countries is a growing public health problem. We aimed to study the relationship of prenatal exposure to obesogens with adipokines, epigenetic modifications and life style factors, in children from birth through adolescence. Urinary phthalates and BPA were measured at 2 time points during pregnancy from 400 women participating in the CHAMACOS study, an ongoing longitudinal birth cohort of low-income Mexican-Americans living in agricultural Salinas, California. We characterized adipokines and DNA methylation in bloods collected from children at several time-points. Obesity parameters in children including BMI, waist circumference, metabolic profiles and adipokines were assessed, as were nutrition and physical activity. Over 55% of CHAMACOS children were already overweight or obese at 9 years of age, and the trend continues at 14 years. Maternal phthalates were detected in a wide range of concentrations, similar to those in other US women of child-bearing age, while BPA levels were lower. Phthalates were associated with differences in child BMI Z-score, waist circumference and adipokines while BPA was positively associated with plasma leptin in boys and adiponectin in girls. Prenatal obesogens were associated with DNA hypomethylation and other epigenetic modifications in cord blood and at age 9. Molecular markers provide insights into mechanisms of obesity development and effects of in utero exposure to endocrine disruptors.