Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: The relationship between prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and child neurodevelopment remains inconclusive, and few studies have investigated associations of PFAS exposure with language development. This study drew on data from seven U.S.-based Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) cohorts to investigate associations between prenatal PFAS exposures and language development in early childhood. METHODS: We quantified concentrations of four PFAS in maternal plasma or serum during pregnancy. Language development was assessed using the communication scale from the Ages & Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ®-3) in children ages 1.5-5 years (n = 1503) and the NIH Toolbox Picture Vocabulary Test (PVT) in children ages 3-5 years (n = 399). Associations between individual PFAS and language outcomes were examined in multivariable linear and logistic regression models. PFAS mixture was examined using quantile g-computation. RESULTS: Overall and in sex-specific analyses, we did not observe associations between individual PFAS biomarkers and language development. The PFAS mixture showed no significant associations with ASQ®-3 communication z-scores (ψ = -0.04; 95 % CI: -0.86, 0.78) or PVT t-scores (ψ = 0.35; 95 % CI: -1.14, 1.83). Sex-specific results showed a small but statistically significant negative association with ASQ®-3 communication scores in females (ψ = -0.46; 95 % CI: -0.88, -0.05; p = 0.03) and positive, albeit not statistically significant, associations with PVT t-scores in males (ψ = 0.27; 95 % CI: -1.84, 2.38) and females (ψ = 0.55; 95 % CI: -1.81, 2.92). CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal concentrations of individual PFAS or their mixture were not associated with ASQ®-3 communication domain scores or PVT t-scores.