Prenatal exposure to acrylamide and neuropsychiatric disorders: a biomarker-based birth cohort study with 34 years of follow-up
Abstract
Background: The widespread exposure to acrylamide from diet and tobacco smoke during prenatal development is of concern as acrylamide is neurotoxic and potentially contributes to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. We aimed to examine associations between prenatal acrylamide exposure and neuropsychiatric outcomes.
Methods: In this biomarker-based study of offspring from the Danish Foetal Origins 1988–1989 birth cohort, pregnant women were enrolled at gestational week 30 at a routine antenatal clinic at Aarhus Hospital, Denmark. Liveborn singletons with available exposure and outcome data were included. The current study was conducted from 2022 to 2026. Prenatal acrylamide exposure was quantified using haemoglobin adducts (HbAA) in maternal blood collected during pregnancy. Incident cases of depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), co-occurring ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as a composite outcome, and any neuropsychiatric disorders were identified from national diagnostic and prescription registries in the first 34 years of life (1988–2023). The associations were estimated using adjusted log-linear Poisson regression models.
Findings: Among 861 offspring, 146 cases of depression, 72 of anxiety, 45 of ADHD, 53 of co-occurring ADHD and ASD, and 150 cases of any neuropsychiatric diagnosis occurred during follow-up. Median (P5–P95) HbAA was 93 (45–250) pmol/g Hb and maternal active smoking during pregnancy was common (42%). Each 10-pmol/g Hb increase in HbAA was associated with IRRs of 1.02 (95% CI 0.99–1.05) for depression and 1.03 (0.99–1.07) for anxiety. High vs. low exposure (≥P75 = 146 pmol/g Hb, vs. <P75) was associated with increased risks of depression (IRR 1.64, 1.05–2.56) and anxiety (IRR 2.29, 1.23–4.25). The estimates for ADHD (1.56, 0.73–3.32), co-occurring ADHD and ASD (1.49, 0.73–3.02) and any neuropsychiatric diagnosis (1.41, 0.90–2.22) showed non-significant increased risk.
Interpretation: The findings support an association between prenatal acrylamide exposure and increased incidence of depression and anxiety in adolescence and adulthood. These findings require replication in cohorts with repeated exposure measurements of a range of dietary exposures to establish to what extent the prenatal exposure to acrylamide was responsible for the observed associations.
Funding: 10.13039/501100000781European Research Council, 10.13039/100012774Innovation Fund Denmark, 10.13039/100007398Danish Council for Strategic Research and 10.13039/501100009244Stockholm University.
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BibTeX
@article{chandiapoblete2026prenatal,
title = {{Prenatal exposure to acrylamide and neuropsychiatric disorders: a biomarker-based birth cohort study with 34 years of follow-up}},
author = {Damian Chandia-Poblete and Stéphane Tuffier and Efstathios Vryonidis and Thorhallur Ingi Halldorsson and Anne Ahrendt Bjerregaard and Marin Strøm and Dorte Rytter and Bodil Hammer Bech and Tine Brink Henriksen and Sjurdur Frodi Olsen and Margareta Törnqvist and Marie Pedersen},
journal = {eClinicalMedicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.eclinm.2026.104286},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2589537026005390},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Prenatal exposure to acrylamide and neuropsychiatric disorders: a biomarker-based birth cohort study with 34 years of follow-up
AU - Damian Chandia-Poblete
AU - Stéphane Tuffier
AU - Efstathios Vryonidis
AU - Thorhallur Ingi Halldorsson
AU - Anne Ahrendt Bjerregaard
AU - Marin Strøm
AU - Dorte Rytter
AU - Bodil Hammer Bech
AU - Tine Brink Henriksen
AU - Sjurdur Frodi Olsen
AU - Margareta Törnqvist
AU - Marie Pedersen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - eClinicalMedicine
DO - 10.1016/j.eclinm.2026.104286
UR - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2589537026005390
AB - Background: The widespread exposure to acrylamide from diet and tobacco smoke during prenatal development is of concern as acrylamide is neurotoxic and potentially contributes to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. We aimed to examine associations between prenatal acrylamide exposure and neuropsychiatric outcomes. Methods: In this biomarker-based study of offspring from the Danish Foetal Origins 1988–1989 birth cohort, pregnant women were enrolled at gestational week 30 at a routine antenatal clinic at Aarhus Hospital, Denmark. Liveborn singletons with available exposure and outcome data were included. The current study was conducted from 2022 to 2026. Prenatal acrylamide exposure was quantified using haemoglobin adducts (HbAA) in maternal blood collected during pregnancy. Incident cases of depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), co-occurring ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as a composite outcome, and any neuropsychiatric disorders were identified from national diagnostic and prescription registries in the first 34 years of life (1988–2023). The associations were estimated using adjusted log-linear Poisson regression models. Findings: Among 861 offspring, 146 cases of depression, 72 of anxiety, 45 of ADHD, 53 of co-occurring ADHD and ASD, and 150 cases of any neuropsychiatric diagnosis occurred during follow-up. Median (P5–P95) HbAA was 93 (45–250) pmol/g Hb and maternal active smoking during pregnancy was common (42%). Each 10-pmol/g Hb increase in HbAA was associated with IRRs of 1.02 (95% CI 0.99–1.05) for depression and 1.03 (0.99–1.07) for anxiety. High vs. low exposure (≥P75 = 146 pmol/g Hb, vs. <P75) was associated with increased risks of depression (IRR 1.64, 1.05–2.56) and anxiety (IRR 2.29, 1.23–4.25). The estimates for ADHD (1.56, 0.73–3.32), co-occurring ADHD and ASD (1.49, 0.73–3.02) and any neuropsychiatric diagnosis (1.41, 0.90–2.22) showed non-significant increased risk. Interpretation: The findings support an association between prenatal acrylamide exposure and increased incidence of depression and anxiety in adolescence and adulthood. These findings require replication in cohorts with repeated exposure measurements of a range of dietary exposures to establish to what extent the prenatal exposure to acrylamide was responsible for the observed associations. Funding: 10.13039/501100000781European Research Council, 10.13039/100012774Innovation Fund Denmark, 10.13039/100007398Danish Council for Strategic Research and 10.13039/501100009244Stockholm University.
SN - 2589-5370
ER -