Relative risks of childhood developmental vulnerabilities in three Australian communities with exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: data linkage study

Background: Aqueous film forming foams (AFFF) containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) caused local environmental contamination in three Australian residential areas: Katherine in the Northern Territory (NT), Oakey in Queensland (Qld) and Williamtown in New South Wales (NSW). We examined whether children who lived in these areas had higher risks of developmental vulnerabilities than children who lived in comparison areas without known contamination. 

Methods: All children identified in the Medicare Enrolment File-a consumer directory for Australia's universal healthcare insurance scheme-who ever lived in exposure areas, and a sample of children who ever lived in selected comparison areas, were linked to the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The AEDC data were available from four cycles: 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018. For each exposure area, we estimated relative risks (RRs) of developmental vulnerability on each of five AEDC domains and a summary measure, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and other potential confounders. 

Findings: We included 2,429 children from the NT, 2,592 from Qld and 510 from NSW. We observed lower risk of developmental vulnerability in the Communication skills and general knowledge domain in Katherine (RR=0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57 to 0.97), and higher risks of developmental vulnerability in the same domain (RR=1.49, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.87) and in the Physical health and wellbeing domain in Oakey (RR=1.31, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.61). Risks of developmental vulnerabilities on other domains were not different from those in the relevant comparison areas or were uncertain due to small numbers of events. 

Conclusion: There was inadequate evidence for increased risks of developmental vulnerabilities in children who ever lived in three PFAS-affected areas in Australia.