Persistent endocrine disrupting chemical mixtures and maternal-infant health

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences awarded Trustees of Boston University $100,228 on December 28, 2026, under the Environmental Health program (CFDA 93.113) to conduct epidemiological research on persistent endocrine-disrupting chemical mixtures and maternal-infant health outcomes.

Principal Investigator Noelle Henderson will quantify the impact of pre-conception maternal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) on infant birth outcomes and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Black mother-infant dyads. The research leverages data from the Study of Environment, Lifestyle, and Fibroids (SELF) offspring cohort, comprised of 385 mother-infant pairs. The study applies state-of-the-art statistical methods for mixture analysis, including quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression, to evaluate the cumulative and interactive associations between baseline maternal blood samples and birthweight, gestational age, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy including gestational hypertension and preeclampsia.

The project period extends through August 31, 2027, with performance in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The award is a Project Grant, the standard assistance type for NIH investigator-initiated research. The research addresses an understudied population overburdened by both persistent EDC exposure and adverse health outcomes, operating under mentorship from experts in environmental epidemiology, perinatal epidemiology, chemical mixtures analysis, and statistical methods.

Abstract

Exposure to persistent endocrine-disrupting chemicals (edcs) is widespread and associated with a variety of deleterious health outcomes. Recent studies suggest that failure to assess exposure to persistent edcs as a mixture, and instead in isolation, may contribute to a systematic underestimation of their synergistic effects. Our study aims to elucidate the role of pre-conception maternal exposure to a persistent EDC mixture (polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs), polybrominated biphenyl ethers (pbdes), and organochlorine pesticides (ocps)) on adverse pregnancy outcomes (apos) by estimating the cumulative and interactive associations with birth outcomes (birthweight and gestational age) and pregnancy outcomes (hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (hdps) including gestational hypertension and preeclampsia), in a population that is understudied and overburdened by both exposure to these persistent edcs and adverse health outcomes. The proposed research in this F31 leverages previously collected data from a well-characterized cohort of black women, the study of environment, lifestyle, and fibroids (self), and focuses on the first singleton births reported during follow-up visits, termed the self offspring cohort, comprised of 385 mother-infant pairs. Under the dedicated mentorship of a diverse range of experts in environmental epidemiology, environmental health, perinatal epidemiology, chemical mixtures, and statistical methods, noelle henderson (PI) proposes to quantify the impact of pre- conception maternal exposure to a mixture of pcbs, pbdes, and ocps on infant size at birth and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in black mother-infant dyads. To do so, we will use state-of-the-art statistical methods developed for mixtures analyses, including quantile g-computation and bayesian kernel machine regression (bkmr), to evaluate the relationship between baseline maternal blood samples and several adverse pregnancy outcomes affecting both infants and mothers. We will further investigate whether these chemicals affect birth weight and the risk of hdps directly or indirectly via alterations in gestational length, using bkmr causal mediation analysis. The proposed training plan will enhance MS. Henderson's skillset by incorporating novel statistical methods designed to address research questions involving high dimensional exposure data, in addition to growing her subject matter expertise on the physiology of pregnancy. This study will address research gaps by providing evidence as to the effects of the persistent EDC mixture on adverse pregnancy outcomes, impacting both maternal and infant health, as well as being the first analysis to do so in black mother-infant pairs. Our findings will inform future strategies to mitigate harmful exposures and improve maternal and infant health for all. Additionally, this project aligns with the fifth niehs research areas of emphasis, environmental health disparities, by focusing on a population that is particularly vulnerable due to elevated exposure to persistent edcs and a higher prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes.