Environmental Health Perspectives · 2 authors, 2 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
This invited perspective commentary evaluates a longitudinal study showing that higher childhood perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) concentrations were significantly associated with delayed pubarche and menarche in girls, with evidence of endocrine pathways involving estrone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate.
This invited perspective reviews a longitudinal study by Pinney et al. that examined associations between childhood PFAS exposure and pubertal timing in girls. PFAS were measured at ages 6-8 years, and participants were followed with regular visits using gold-standard Tanner staging by trained examiners. Sophisticated statistical models estimated ages at pubertal milestones, and mediation analyses evaluated BMI as a potential mediator. Higher baseline PFOA concentrations were significantly associated with lower likelihood of reaching pubarche and menarche by end of follow-up, with similar patterns for PFOS. A triangular relationship was identified between PFAS, BMI, and pubertal timing, with PFOA predicting lower BMI and later pubertal milestones.
