Five Questions With: Joseph Braun

Joseph Braun, Ph.D., an assistant professor of epidemiology at Brown University, leads a research initiative on women’s exposure during pregnancy to a chemical and the impact of that exposure on the later born children. / FRANK MULLIN/BROWN UNIVERSITY
Joseph Braun, Ph.D., an assistant professor of epidemiology at Brown University, leads a research initiative on women’s exposure during pregnancy to a chemical and the impact of that exposure on the later born children. / FRANK MULLIN/BROWN UNIVERSITY

Joseph Braun is an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology in the program of public health at Brown University. He is leading a research initiative that has shown a statistically significant association between a relatively high exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid, part of a larger family of chemicals called perfluoroalkyl substances, and the pace of body fat gain in children during the first eight years of life. PFOA is a suspected “obesogen,” because lab studies suggest exposure to its broader family of PFAS chemicals may alter the body’s metabolism and fat cell development.

Braun talked recently with Providence Business News about this research, which was the recipient of a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Braun studies the patterns, determinants and health consequences of early life environmental chemical exposures in pregnant women, infants and children. He has a special interest in children’s environmental health, endocrine disrupting chemicals, neurodevelopment and obesity.

PBN: Can you describe the scope of your research and how this new $2 million grant will support that research?

BRAUN: We will conduct new follow-up on approximately 200 children from Cincinnati, Ohio to assess their body composition (e.g., fat and muscle mass) and measure their blood lipid (e.g., cholesterol), glucose and insulin levels. We will also measure the levels of hormones in their blood that are related to obesity and examine if these chemicals affect the expression of their genes.

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PBN: The grant runs for five years and began February 2016; how many researchers other than you will be involved in this research and will they be at Brown or elsewhere?

BRAUN: This initiative is a collaborative effort between five investigators at Brown University, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Oregon State University and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.
PBN: The broader family of perfluoroalkyl substances chemicals include PFOA. What are the PFAS chemicals that pregnant women should avoid so their children won’t be at risk of being overweight, and what products contain these chemicals?
BRAUN:
For most people, the predominant source of exposure is diet. However, these chemicals are found in many foods due to environmental contamination. In addition, PFAS are used in some food packaging and paper. For instance, the inside of some microwave popcorn bags are coated with PFAS. In order to reduce their exposure, pregnant women should eat a diet that contains a diversity of nutritious foods. In addition, they could reduce their PFAS exposure by not eating certain packaged foods.

PBN: Is exposure to these PFAS chemicals of concern throughout a woman’s pregnancy or only during a specific trimester, and how much exposure is problematic?

BRAUN: We do not know the period of maximum sensitivity to PFAS. This is part of the reason why we are conducting this research. Hopefully, our work will help determine if pregnancy or childhood PFAS exposures are more important. In addition, we hope to be able to identify modifiable sources of PFAS exposure.

PBN: What are the health consequences to children born to women exposed to PFAS chemicals during pregnancy?

BRAUN: There are a number of studies suggesting that prenatal PFAS exposure is associated with a reduction in birth weight. A smaller number of studies suggest that prenatal PFAS exposure is associated with increased risk of obesity, but some studies do not.

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