Study Proves That Prenatal Exposure to Chemicals Can Cause Liver Disease in Children

Researchers from Mount Sinai University have discovered a link between prenatal exposure to various endocrine disruptors, and the rising prevalence of a potentially cancerous liver ailment in youngsters.

It is the first in-depth investigation of the link between prenatal exposure to certain chemicals and chemical combinations and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

The new marker for the condition in kids was cytokeratin-18, according to the researchers.

The findings, which were published in JAMA Network Open in July, highlighted the significance of comprehending prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals as a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a problem that is rapidly becoming more prevalent in children and can result in serious chronic liver disease and liver cancer in adults.

Chemical exposure during pregnancy

(Photo : Jason Sung/Unsplash)

The existing epidemic of non-alcoholic alcoholic liver disease can be addressed with more effective early-life prevention and intervention strategies, according to Vishal Midya, Ph.D., the study's first author and a postdoctoral researcher in the department of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

He is also a participant in the Mount Sinai Institute for Exposomic Research.

Researchers are all affected by these chemicals daily through the food we eat, the water we drink, and the use of consumer products, continued Damaskini Valvi, MD, Ph.D., MPH, senior author, assistant professor of environmental medicine and public health, and a representative of the Mount Sinai Institute for Exposomic Research at Icahn Mount Sinai, as per ScienceDaily.

These results presented the need for further research to clarify how environmental chemical exposures may interact with genetic and lifestyle factors in the pathogenesis of liver disease and demonstrate that early life exposure to many endocrine-disrupting chemicals is a risk factor for pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

One of the most prevalent liver conditions in the world, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly identified in children, where it affects 6% to 10% of all pediatric patients and around 34% of obese children.

A broad category of environmental contaminants known as "endocrine-disrupting substances" includes numerous pesticides, plastics, flame retardants, and hazardous metals.

Examples include polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are used as flame retardants in furniture and baby items, and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals," which are utilized in nonstick cookware and food packaging.

Chemicals that disturb the endocrine system affect a person's hormone and metabolic systems.

The possible consequences of prenatal combination exposures to these chemicals have not yet been researched in humans, despite the fact that several experimental investigations have demonstrated that exposures to these chemicals can cause liver damage and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

In this investigation, 45 substances were found in the blood or urine of 1,108 pregnant women between 2003 and 2010.

Endocrine-disrupting substances such PFAS, organochlorine, organophosphate insecticides, plasticizers, PBDEs, and parabens were among the compounds used.

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Finding ways to limit exposure

The study provided an example of the well-known fact that critical windows of development in utero, childhood, and adolescence confer particular vulnerability to environmental exposures, according to Dr. Aparna Bole, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change.

She made this statement to the UPI.

For instance, Midya advised pregnant women to find measures to reduce their exposure to harmful chemicals, such as avoiding non-stick cookware, plastic food packaging, flame-retardant furniture, canned goods, pesticides, and some cosmetics.

Bole advised them to stay away from contaminated water that can contain lead and other contaminants.

According to the experts, endocrine-disrupting substances affect people's hormonal and metabolic systems.

The potential consequences of prenatal "mixture exposures" to these chemicals have not yet been investigated in humans, despite previous research showing that exposure to these chemicals can cause liver damage and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

In this investigation, scientists evaluated 45 chemicals in the blood or urine of 1,108 pregnant women between 2003 and 2010, including endocrine-disrupting substances including PFAS, organochlorine, organophosphate insecticides, plasticizers (phenols and phthalates), PBDEs, and parabens.

Although the 45 chemicals might be split down into particular ones, Midya said that the phrase "mixture exposures" simply implies that the investigators looked at all 45 chemicals at once.

Scientists assessed the levels of enzymes and cytokeratin-18 that signal risk for breast cancer in the kids of the women who participated when they were 6 to 11 years old.

He said that because most chemicals are slow poisons, it takes a very long period to assess their possible health impacts.

Because HELIX is already a long-term project, you can watch what is developing gradually in front of your eyes.

Because a liver biopsy-the gold standard for establishing a causal association with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-was not possible, researchers noted that the study had limitations.

Given the age of the youngsters, this is due to the danger and ethical constraints.

There will be more investigation.

According to Midya, the researchers seek to gather information on moms after giving birth and children over a longer period of time to look for chemical buildup in the body.