Severe Prenatal Exposure to PFAS Chemicals Linked to Increased Risk of Childhood Asthma Diagnoses

Lund University study finds children exposed to high levels of PFAS in the womb have significantly higher asthma rates due to contaminated drinking water.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 10, 2026, 8:19 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from EurekAlert!

The Respiratory Cost of Chemical Contamination

New evidence from researchers at Lund University in Sweden suggests a strong correlation between high prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and the incidence of clinically diagnosed asthma in children. The study, published on April 9, 2026, focuses on a unique cohort of children from Blekinge County who were exposed to water supplies contaminated by aqueous film-forming foams. According to lead author Annelise Blomberg, this high-exposure environment allowed scientists to identify health risks that remained hidden in previous studies involving lower, background levels of these synthetic chemicals.

Uncovering the Impact of Toxic Waterways

The investigation centered on the town of Ronneby, where municipal waterworks were contaminated for decades, leading to PFAS exposure levels hundreds of times higher than those found in the general population. By linking maternal addresses to water distribution records and cross-referencing this data with the National Patient Register, the team was able to track individual asthma outcomes for children born between 2006 and 2013. The results indicate that the immune-disrupting properties of these "forever chemicals" may fundamentally alter respiratory development before a child is even born.

Bridging the Gap in Epidemiological Research

Prior studies into the relationship between PFAS and asthma often yielded inconclusive or mixed results because they focused on populations with relatively low exposure. The Ronneby case provided a broader exposure range that clarified the response relationship. Blomberg noted that the substantial increase in asthma incidence was only observable at these very high levels of prenatal exposure, which helps explain why the link was previously unrecognized in general population surveys. This finding suggests that PFAS-related health effects follow a specific threshold that is only crossed in heavily contaminated communities.