# Critical effects associated with developmental PFAS exposure profiles

> **NIH NIH P42** · UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND · 2024 · $369,926

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – PROJECT 2 CRITICAL EFFECTS
Metabolic diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, are major public health problems of multifactorial
etiology, in which early-life exposures to environmental pollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS), appear to play a role. In parallel, a critical effect of PFAS exposure is immunotoxicity that paves the
way for immune dysfunction and infectious disease. STEEP Project 2 (P2–Critical Effects) will examine the
role of developmental exposure profiles for these high-priority environmental pollutants and determine
outcomes up to ages 5 and 14 years to allow identification of windows of susceptibility. We will rely on two birth
cohorts from the Faroe Islands (total N >1000) to prospectively explore the associations between exposure
profiles of PFAS and outcomes, including immune deficiencies (suboptimal antibody production after
vaccinations, and increased frequency of infectious disease) and metabolic abnormalities (excess adiposity,
hyperlipidaemia, low bone mineral content, and prediabetes). P2–Critical Effects will further evaluate the
possible usefulness of clinically relevant biomarkers in serum (such as cholesterol subfractions,
adipocytokines, insulin-like growth factor-1). Exposure data are already available from analyses of maternal
pregnancy, cord blood and postnatal serum at ages 18 months, 5 and 9 years from the oldest Cohort 5, and
clinical data, including DXA scans, are available for comparisons with age 14 years. The youngest Cohort 6 is
currently being formed, with blood samples and human milk being taken during infancy for PFAS analyses that
will allow determination of PFAS transfer from lactation. Multiple regression analyses with adjustment for other
environmental chemicals will be complemented by structural equation models and other advanced statistical
methods. Thus, the proposed study will aim at providing prevention potentials and new insights into the
pathogenesis of major public health problems that are associated with early-life exposures to high-priority
environmental pollutants.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10868702
- **Project number:** 5P42ES027706-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
- **Principal Investigator:** PHILIPPE ADAM GRANDJEAN
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $369,926
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10868702

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10868702, Critical effects associated with developmental PFAS exposure profiles (5P42ES027706-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10868702. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*