Association between brominated flame retardants and obesity: a mediation analysis through markers of oxidative stress and inflammation.

Yue FEI; Yulan CHENG; Xiangdong WANG; Jialing RUAN; Dongnan ZHENG; Haotian CAO; Xuehai WANG; Xiaoke WANG; Xinyuan ZHAO; Jinxian YANG

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Association between brominated flame retardants and obesity: a mediation analysis through markers of oxidative stress and inflammation.

Author: Yue FEI ¹ ; Yulan CHENG ¹ ; Xiangdong WANG ¹ ; Jialing RUAN ¹ ; Dongnan ZHENG ¹ ; Haotian CAO ¹ ; Xuehai WANG ¹ ; Xiaoke WANG ¹ ; Xinyuan ZHAO ¹ ; Jinxian YANG ²
Author Information

1. Department of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Toxicology, Nantong Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, School of Public Health, Nantong University.
2. Xinglin College, Nantong University.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Bayesian kernel machine regression; Brominated flame retardants; NHANES; Obesity; Weighted quantile sum regression
MeSH: Humans; Flame Retardants/adverse effects*; Oxidative Stress/drug effects*; Adult; Male; Female; Middle Aged; Inflammation/epidemiology*; Obesity/chemically induced*; Biomarkers/blood*; Nutrition Surveys; Mediation Analysis; Young Adult; United States/epidemiology*; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects*; Aged; Environmental Pollutants/adverse effects*; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers/adverse effects*
From:Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine 2025;30():35-35
CountryJapan
Language:English
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Recent studies have provided compelling evidence that exposure to brominated flame retardants (BFRs) can adversely affect human health. We aim to explore the potential impact of BFRs on adiposity and central obesity.
METHODS:Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) cycles conducted between 2009 and 2014 was used to study the connections between variables. After filtering, we analyzed a sample of 4,110 adults aged 20 years and above. Our goal was to examine the potential association between BFRs and consequences and investigate the part played by oxidative stress and inflammatory markers as intermediaries. To achieve this, we used advanced statistical methods such as weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, quantile-based g-computation (QGC), and the Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR).
RESULTS:The findings showed that among the examined chemicals, exposure to PBDE85 (weight: 41%), PBDE100 (24%), and PBB153 (23%) may be the dominant contributors to general obesity risk. Upon controlling for all variables that could impact the results, it was found that the QGC outcomes indicated a positive correlation between exposure to mixtures of brominated flame retardants and the occurrence of abdominal obesity (OR = 1.187, 95% CI: 1.056-1.334, p = 0.004). Significant contributions were made by PBDE85 (52%), PBB153 (27%), and PBDE100 (21%). Mediation analysis shows that lymphatic cells (LC) and albumin (ALB) partially mediate the link between brominated flame retardants and obesity. The results of BKMR are generally consistent with those of WQS and QGC.
CONCLUSION:At a population level, our research has revealed a noteworthy correlation between BFRs and obesity. However, further investigation is required through prospective cohort studies and in-depth mechanistic exploratory studies.