Background :
Experimental evidence suggests that developmental exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POP) and to some non persistent pesticides may disrupt metabolic regulation of glucose metabolism and insulin secretion, and thereby contribute to the current epidemic of obesity and metabolic disorders. Quasi-experimental situations of undernutrition in utero have provided some information. However, the evidence in humans concerning the role of the prenatal environment in these disorders is contradictory, and little is known about long-term outcomes, such as type 2 diabetes, of prenatal exposure.
Objectives :
Our aim was to evaluate the effects of prenatal exposure to POP and organophosphate pesticides on fetal markers of glucose metabolism in a sample of newborns from the Pelagie mother–child cohort in Brittany (France).