Relationships of First-Trimester Body Mass Index and Weight Change with Persistent Organic Pollutant Concentrations in Pregnant Canadian Individuals

Marianne Levesque, Mariame Ouedraogo, Romina Fakhraei, Alysha Dingwall Harvey, Elizabeth Bratton, Mark Walker, Linda Dodds and Laura Gaudet ()
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Marianne Levesque: Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
Mariame Ouedraogo: Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
Romina Fakhraei: Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
Alysha Dingwall Harvey: OMNI Research Group, Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada
Elizabeth Bratton: Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
Mark Walker: Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
Linda Dodds: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3K 6R8, Canada
Laura Gaudet: Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada

Challenges, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemicals with demonstrable effects on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. The associations of early pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and antenatal weight changes with circulating POP concentrations are poorly understood in the Canadian context. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between maternal BMI in the first trimester, weight change from pre-pregnancy to 6–13 weeks of pregnancy, and first-trimester plasma POP concentrations among Canadian pregnant women. We analyzed data collected as part of the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) study and evaluated POP concentrations based on first-trimester BMI and early gestational weight change categories. We tested for overall differences using Kruskal-Wallis tests. The associations between first-trimester maternal BMI, weight change, and plasma concentrations of 41 POPs were evaluated using censored regression models. After controlling for potential confounders, first-trimester plasma levels of multiple POPs differed significantly across BMI categories, with the highest concentrations in underweight/normal-weight individuals and the lowest in class III obese individuals. Our findings provide preliminary evidence of higher circulating POP levels in individuals with obesity and align with previous findings of an inverse relationship between circulating POP concentrations and BMI in pregnancy. Future studies should prospectively evaluate the interplay between weight change and POP concentrations throughout pregnancy to inform gestational weight gain recommendations for pregnant individuals with obesity.

Keywords: maternal obesity; early gestational weight changes; persistent organic pollutants; maternal health; fetal health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A00 C00 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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