Abstract:
BACKGROUND : As part of malaria control programs, many countries spray dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) or pyrethroid insecticides inside dwellings in a practice called indoor residual spraying that results in high levels of exposure to local
populations. Gestational exposure to these endocrine- and metabolism-disrupting chemicals may influence child cardiometabolic health.
METHODS : We measured the serum concentration of DDT and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and urinary concentration
of pyrethroid metabolites (cis-DBCA, cis-DCCA, trans-DCCA, 3-PBA) in peripartum samples collected between August 2012
and December 2013 from 637 women participating in the Venda Health Examination of Mothers, Babies and their Environment
(VHEMBE), a birth cohort study based in Limpopo, South Africa. We applied marginal structural models to estimate the relationship
between biomarker concentrations and child-size (height and weight), adiposity (body mass index [BMI], body fat percentage, waist
circumference) and blood pressure at 5 years of age.
RESULTS : Maternal concentrations of all four pyrethroid metabolites were associated with lower adiposity including reduced BMI
z-scores, smaller waist circumferences, and decreased body fat percentages. Reductions in BMI z-score were observed only
among children of mothers with sufficient energy intake during pregnancy (βcis-DCCA, trans-DCCA=−0.4, 95% confidence interval
(CI) = −0.7,−0.1; pinteraction=0.03 and 0.04, respectively) but there was no evidence of effect modification for the other measures
of adiposity. Maternal p,p’-DDT concentrations were associated with a reduction in body fat percentage (β = −0.4%, 95%
CI = −0.8,−0.0).
CONCLUSIONS : Gestational exposure to pyrethroids may reduce adiposity in children at 5 years of age.
