{
  "abstract": "Environmental chemical exposures have been linked to gut microbiome dysregulation and adverse health outcomes in children. Halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) are persistent chemicals with substantial early-life exposure, yet evidence on their effects on the pediatric gut microbiome remains limited. We examined associations between HFR exposures and the gut microbiome among 8-12-y-old children from the GESTation and Environment (GESTE) cohort in Sherbrooke, Canada. In a multi-matrix, multi-omics design, 10 HFRs were quantified in plasma (n = 140) and stool (n = 182), with shotgun metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing characterized microbial species and functional pathways. After false discovery rate correction, plasma BDE-47 and BDE-99 were inversely associated with Clostridium sp. CAG:221 and Bacteroides dorei, respectively (q < 0.2). Stool BDE-153 was negatively associated with short-chain fatty acid-producing taxa, including Eubacterium spp. and Roseburia intestinalis, and positively associated with Alistipes putredinis and Faecalibacterium spp. Stool BDE-153 and anti-DP were associated with higher activity of pathways involved in phospholipid homeostasis and 4-aminobutanoate degradation. Mediation analysis suggested that Faecalibacterium spp. partly mediated the association between stool BDE-153 and cytidine diphosphate-diacylglycerol biosynthesis. Our findings suggest that childhood HFR exposure is associated with alterations in gut microbiome composition and function, with potential implications for pediatric health.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA.",
    "Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.",
    "Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.",
    "Department of Environmental Health and Department of Molecular Metabolism, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.",
    "Department of Mathematics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA.",
    "Quantitative Biomedical Research Center, Department of Health Data Science and Biostatistics, Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.",
    "Département de Pédiatrie, Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.",
    "Département de Chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.",
    "Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.",
    "Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yidan Zhang",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-4165-7387"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Feng Gao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Peng Gao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yihan Fan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Xinlei Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Yuqiu Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Anthony Gagnon"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Guillaume Martinez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Virginie Gillet"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Jiping Zhu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Jean-Philippe Bellenger"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Andrea A Baccarelli"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Larissa Takser"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yike Shen",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8480-8258"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0z27fqgtp88sj.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1080/29933935.2026.2747517",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13682408",
  "id": "0z27fqgtp88sj",
  "issns": [
    "2993-3935"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42904169",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Gut microbiota and health"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222880042",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13682408?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13682408",
  "pmid": "42904169",
  "published": "2026-10-18",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0z27fqgtp88sj.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:53Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42904169",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42904169"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Gut microbiota and health",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Halogenated flame retardant exposure was associated with pediatric gut microbiome profiles in a Canadian cohort.",
  "title_text": "Halogenated flame retardant exposure was associated with pediatric gut microbiome profiles in a Canadian cohort.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:53Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0z27fqgtp88sj",
  "venue": "Gut microbes reports",
  "versions": []
}