Reducing exposure to high levels of perfluorinated compounds in drinking water improves reproductive outcomes: evidence from an intervention in Minnesota
Open Access
- 22 April 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Environmental Health
- Vol. 19 (1), 1-11
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-020-00591-0
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been detected in drinking water supplies around the world and are the subject of intense regulatory debate. While they have been associated with several illnesses, their effects on reproductive outcomes remains uncertain. We analyzed birth outcomes in the east Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area from 2002 to 2011, where a portion of the population faced elevated exposure to PFASs due to long-term contamination of drinking water supplies from industrial waste disposal. Installation of a water filtration facility in the highly contaminated city of Oakdale, MN at the end of 2006 resulted in a sharp decrease in exposure to PFASs, creating a “natural experiment”. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we compare the changes in birth outcomes before and after water filtration in Oakdale to the changes over the same period in neighboring communities where the treatment of municipal water remained constant. Average birth weight and average gestational age were statistically significantly lower in the highly exposed population than in the control area prior to filtration of municipal water supply. The highly exposed population faced increased odds of low birth weight (adjusted odds ratio 1.36, 95% CI 1.25–1.48) and pre-term birth (adjusted odds ratio 1.14, 95% CI 1.09–1.19) relative to the control before filtration, and these differences moderated after filtration. The general fertility rate was also significantly lower in the exposed population (incidence rate ratio 0.73, 95% CI 0.69–0.77) prior to filtration and appeared to be rebounding post-2006. Our findings provide evidence of a causal relationship between filtration of drinking water containing high levels of exposure to PFASs and improved reproductive outcomes.Keywords
This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- Serum Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate Concentrations in Relation to Birth Outcomes in the Mid-Ohio Valley, 2005–2010Environmental Health Perspectives, 2013
- Relationship of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Exposure to Pregnancy Outcome Based on Birth Records in the Mid-Ohio ValleyEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 2012
- Perfluorooctanoic Acid Exposure and Pregnancy Outcome in a Highly Exposed CommunityEpidemiology, 2012
- Perfluorinated Compounds in Relation to Birth Weight in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort StudyAmerican Journal of Epidemiology, 2012
- Perfluorinated Compounds and Subfecundity in Pregnant WomenEpidemiology, 2012
- Early Childhood Development of Late-Preterm Infants: A Systematic ReviewPublished by American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) ,2011
- Do Perfluoroalkyl Compounds Impair Human Semen Quality?Environmental Health Perspectives, 2009
- The relationship between birth weight, gestational age and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)-contaminated public drinking waterReproductive Toxicology, 2008
- Cord Serum Concentrations of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in Relation to Weight and Size at BirthEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 2007
- Guest Editorial: Biomarkers of Perfluorinated Chemicals and Birth WeightEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 2007