Association of Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate With Serum Lipids Among Adults Living Near a Chemical Plant

Abstract

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are compounds that do not occur in nature but have been widely used since World War II and persist indefinitely in the environment. They are present in the serum of Americans with median levels of 4 ng/mL and 21 ng/mL, respectively. PFOA has been positively associated with cholesterol in several studies of workers. A cross-sectional study of lipids and PFOA and PFOS was conducted among 46,294 community residents aged 18 years or above, who drank water contaminated with PFOA from a chemical plant in West Virginia. The mean levels of serum PFOA and PFOS in 2005-2006 were 80 ng/mL (median, 27 ng/mL) and 22 ng/mL (median, 20 ng/mL), respectively. All lipid outcomes except high density lipoprotein cholesterol showed significant increasing trends by increasing decile of either compound; high density lipoprotein cholesterol showed no association. The predicted increase in cholesterol from lowest to highest decile for either compound was 11-12 mg/dL. The odds ratios for high cholesterol (>/=240 mg/dL), by increasing quartile of PFOA, were 1.00, 1.21 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12, 1.31), 1.33 (95% CI: 1.23, 1.43), and 1.40 (95% CI: 1.29, 1.51) and were similar for PFOS quartiles. Because these data are cross-sectional, causal inference is limited. Nonetheless, the associations between these compounds and lipids raise concerns, given their common presence in the general population.

Perceptions of genetic research in three rural Appalachian Ohio communities

“…Appalachia is composed of 13 states and extends from New York to Mississippi (ARC 2008). The interaction between environmental exposures and genetics as a disease catalyst warrants further environmental genetic research, yet very few studies have included rural Appalachians in their research studies Wewers et al 2000;Haynes et al 2010;Hendryx et al 2009;Steenland et al 2009;Standridge et al 2008). In order to develop appropriate communication about environmental genetic research with this population, it is essential to understand their thoughts and perceptions of genetic research and the role of environment.…”

Associations between serum concentrations of perfluoroalkyl acids and serum lipid levels in a Chinese population

“…Eriksen et al (2013) reported a 0.12 mmol/L higher concentration of TC with elevated interquartile range of PFOS in a Danish population consisting of 753 individuals. In the C8 Health Project, a positive linear association of PFOS with TC and LDLC among adults has been reported; people in the highest PFOS decile had TC levels 0.29 mmol/L higher than those in the lowest decile (Steenland et al, 2009). Another study from the C8 Health Project showed that there were a 0.22 and 0.15 mmol/L increases in the adjusted mean levels of TC and LDLC between the first and fifth quintiles of PFOS in children and adolescents (Frisbee et al, 2010b).…”

“…The effect of systematic underestimation of higher cholesterol levels, however, if non-differential with respect to exposure, would most likely be null. Steenland et al (2009) conducted an analysis including all subjects regardless of whether they were taking cholesterol medication. The results showed that those taking cholesterol medication had a significantly lower PFOA, but the effect was very modest (a decrease of only 4%), with statistical significance primarily a function of the large sample size (69030 subjects).…”

Synergistic effects of perfluoroalkyl acids mixtures with J-shaped concentration–responses on viability of a human liver cell line

“…Studies have shown that PFAAs with longer fluorinated carbon chains (>7 fluorinated carbons) mainly accumulate in the liver (Lau et al, 2004;Houde et al, 2006) and thus lead to both in vivo and in vitro hepatic morphological and biochemical changes in laboratory animals (Seacat et al, 2003;Son et al, 2008;Wolf et al, 2008;Zhang et al, 2008;Albrecht et al, 2013). Although these studies suggest that the peroxisome proliferators activated receptor a (PPARa)-dependent mode of action proposed for hepatic tumor induction in rodents is not relevant to humans (Bjork and Wallace, 2009), recent epidemiological data found significant positive associations between PFOA and PFOS concentrations and all lipid outcomes (except high density lipoprotein-cholesterol), with a relatively lower serum level of PFOA (median, 27 ng/mL) and PFOS (median, 20 ng/mL) in 46,294 community residents from a West Virginian chemical plant (C8 Health Project) (Steenland et al, 2009). In addition, researchers have found a linear association between PFOA/PFOS serum concentrations and alanine transferase (a marker of hepatocellular injury) (Gallo et al, 2012).…”