Longitudinal poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) levels in Dutch infants

Abstract Background Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are persistent and widespread environmental pollutants. Residents of a large area of the Veneto Region (North-Eastern Italy) were exposed to high concentrations of PFASs through drinking water from the late-1970s to 2013. PFASs have been consistently associated with raised serum lipids, but only few studies have been conducted among pregnant women, and none has stratified analyses by trimesters of gestation. Our main objective was to evaluate the association between perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) levels and lipid profiles in high-exposed pregnant women. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was conducted in 319 pregnant women (age 14-48 years) recruited in the Regional health surveillance program. Serum PFASs were measured by HPLC-MS/MS. Non-fasting serum total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured by enzymatic assays in automated analysers, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated. The associations between ln-transformed PFASs (and categorized into quartiles) and lipids were assessed using generalized additive models. Analyses were adjusted for potential confounders and stratified according to pregnancy trimester. Results In the first trimester, plasma concentrations of both PFOA and PFOS were positively associated with TC. However in the third trimester PFOA levels were instead inversely significantly associated with TC and LDL-C levels. Overall, both PFOA and PFOS were positively associated with HDL-C, and PFOA negatively with LDL-C. Conclusions In a small highly exposed population of pregnant women, the associations between PFASs concentrations and lipid profile were modified by trimester of gestation. Patterns late in pregnancy were different to the positive associations with LDL-C generally found. Differential transfer and bioaccumulation of lipids and PFAS in the placenta across gestation might explain our findings. Key messages This study provides evidence of different patterns of PFAS associations with lipids in pregnant women across the trimesters of gestation. The different patterns of association from general population studies sheds light on the role of fetal nutrition during pregnancy affecting both lipids and PFAS in serum.

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Are there risks induced by novel and legacy poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances in coastal aquaculture base in South China?

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146539 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 146539

Author(s):

Qiongping Sun ◽

Ran Bi ◽

Tieyu Wang ◽

Chuanghong Su ◽

Zhenwei Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South China ◽

Perfluoroalkyl Substances ◽

Coastal Aquaculture

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Suspect and Nontarget Screening Revealed Class-Specific Temporal Trends (2000–2017) of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances in St. Lawrence Beluga Whales

Environmental Science & Technology ◽

10.1021/acs.est.0c05957 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 1659-1671

Author(s):

Holly Barrett ◽

Xuan Du ◽

Magali Houde ◽

Stéphane Lair ◽

Jonathan Verreault ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Temporal Trends ◽

Perfluoroalkyl Substances ◽

Beluga Whales ◽

Nontarget Screening

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Prenatal and postnatal transfer of perfluoroalkyl substances from mothers to their offspring

Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology ◽

10.1080/10643389.2021.1886556 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-28

Author(s):

Yingxue Liu ◽

An Li ◽

Qi An ◽

Kai Liu ◽

Ping Zheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Perfluoroalkyl Substances

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Perfluoroalkyl substances and blood pressure in exposed young population in the Veneto Region, Italy

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.107 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

C Canova ◽

M Jare Zeddi ◽

G Barbieri ◽

M Gion ◽

F Daprà ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽

Sulfonic Acid ◽

Antihypertensive Drugs ◽

Adult Population ◽

Additive Models ◽

Perfluoroalkyl Substances ◽

Surveillance Program ◽

Veneto Region ◽

Large Area

Abstract Background Residents in a large area of the Veneto Region (North-Eastern Italy) were exposed to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) via drinking water. Studies on the association between PFASs and blood pressure (BP) levels are limited and results are inconsistent. Using cross-sectional data from the Regional health surveillance program, we aimed to quantify the associations between PFAS serum concentrations and blood pressure and hypertension prevalence. Methods The study included 16,224 individuals aged 20-39 years. Pregnant women (n = 327), participants with self-reported diagnosis or under treatment (n = 296) or with missing information on the selected covariates (n = 114) were excluded, leaving 15,487 subjects. Hypertension (HYP) was defined as any self-reported diagnosis, use of antihypertensive drugs, or raised systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP)≥140, DBP ≥90 mmHg). Serum PFASs were measured by HPLC-MS. Generalized additive models were used to investigate the relation between each PFAS (perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)) ln transformed and by decile, and SBP, DBP, HYP, adjusted for potential confounders. Results Both SBP and DBP increased significantly with an increase in the ln-transformed serum PFASs concentration in a monotonic way. The predicted increase in SBP and DBP were 1.62 (95% CI = 0.69, 2.55), 1.64 mmHg (95% CI = 0.96, 2.31) from lowest to highest decile of PFOA. The associations were stronger for SBP in men and DBP in women. One unit increase in each ln-PFAS was positively associated with an increased odds of HYP in men: PFOA OR = 1.07 (1.01-1.14), PFOS OR = 1.18 (1.05-1.32), PFHxS OR = 1.11 (1.03-1.19), PFNA OR = 1.19 (1.01-1.41). Conclusions Our findings suggest that exposure to PFAS is associated with increased blood pressure and thus may contribute as a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. Key messages Serum PFASs were associated with raised systolic blood pressure in men and diastolic blood pressure in women in a large highly exposed young adult population. Serum PFASs were associated with raised prevalence of hypertension in men.

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