Associations of maternal bisphenol urine concentrations during pregnancy with neonatal metabolomic profiles

Background Fetal exposure to bisphenols is associated with altered fetal growth, adverse birth outcomes and childhood cardio-metabolic risk factors. Metabolomics may serve as a tool to identify the mechanisms underlying these associations. We examined the associations of maternal bisphenol urinary concentrations in pregnancy with neonatal metabolite profiles from cord blood. Methods In a population-based prospective cohort study among 225 mother–child pairs, maternal urinary bisphenol A, S and F concentrations in first, second and third trimester were measured. LC–MS/MS was used to determine neonatal concentrations of amino acids, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), phospholipids (PL), and carnitines in cord blood. Results No associations of maternal total bisphenol concentrations with neonatal metabolite profiles were present. Higher maternal average BPA concentrations were associated with higher neonatal mono-unsaturated alkyl-lysophosphatidylcholine concentrations, whereas higher maternal average BPS was associated with lower neonatal overall and saturated alkyl-lysophosphatidylcholine (p-values Discussion Higher maternal bisphenol A, F and S concentrations in pregnancy are associated with alterations in neonatal metabolite profile, mainly in NEFA, PL and carnitines concentrations. These findings provide novel insight into potential mechanisms underlying associations of maternal bisphenol exposure during pregnancy with adverse offspring outcomes but need to be replicated among larger, diverse populations.