Association between maternal exposure to endocrine disruptor chemicals and metabolic markers in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies

The negative effects of maternal exposure to endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) have not been reported in any meta-analysis on metabolic markers in children. We performed a systematic review of cohort studies evaluating the effects of maternal exposure to EDCs on lipidprofile, including triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), lipoproteins (LDL-C and HDL-C), fasting blood sugar (FBS), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) in children. Moreover, anthropometric measures such as waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) were analyzed. The systematic search was performed on four databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE, up to March ۲۰۲۲. After the screening, ۳۰ cohort studies met our inclusion criteria. Studies included ۱۰۵ to ۴۰۶۵ participants. In the meta-analysis, maternal exposure to EDCs was associated with higher SBP (Fisher_Z: ۰.۰۶, CI: ۰.۰۴, ۰.۰۸), BMI (Fisher_Z: ۰.۰۷, CI: ۰.۰۶, ۰.۰۸), and WC (Fisher_Z: ۰.۰۶, CI: ۰.۰۳, ۰.۰۸) in children. A linear association was found between the BPA and pesticide exposure with BMI z-score and WC in children. In conclusion, prenatal exposure to EDCs could increase the risk of metabolic disorders in children. Therefore, these compounds might be noted prevent future metabolic disorders in the next generation

Keywords:

Metabolic disorders , Endocrine Disruptor Chemicals , systematic review , meta-analysis