Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Abdominal Aortic Calcification

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate if serum perfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) were associated with abdominal aortic calcification (AAC). Methods: We used weighted logistic regression to investigate the gender-specific association between PFAS serum levels and AAC more than or equal to 6 from dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans of the thoraco-lumbar spine from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2014 survey participants aged more than or equal to 40 years. Results: After adjusting for confounding, none of log-transformed perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), or perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) were significantly associated with AAC for either men or women (adjusted odds ratios [ORs] ranged from 0.80 to 1.33, P > 0.05 each). For PFOA and PFOS, the association was positive only in women (although the difference was not statistically significant in either case). Conclusion: These findings do not provide general support for a relationship of PFAS exposure to AAC, although the results show a need for gender-specific consideration in a larger dataset.

Perfluoroalkyl/Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Links to Cardiovascular Disease Risk

“…123 Two cross-sectional studies in the United States (NHANES 2013-2014, 913 participants; DPP study, 666 participants) described a significant increase in vascular calcification scores associated with PFNA, PFHxS, and PFOS. 125,126 Overall, prospective studies support that PFOA, PFNA, PFHxS, and PFOS are associated with increased patterns for total cholesterol and LDL-C, and crosssectional studies continue to build support for the association between PFOA, PFNA, PFHxS, and PFOS with elevated total cholesterol and LDL-C. In contrast, HDL-C does not seem to be strongly associated with PFAS, and associations with triglycerides have been mixed.…”

“…123 Two cross-sectional studies in the United States (NHANES 2013–2014, 913 participants; DPP study, 666 participants) described a significant increase in vascular calcification scores associated with PFNA, PFHxS, and PFOS. 125,126…”

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances concentrations are associated with an unfavorable cardio-metabolic risk profile: findings from two population-based cohort studies

“…As PFAS accumulate during the lifespan (Pérez et al 2013) and may have different effects across age groups, we next included a multiplicative interaction term between age and the PFAS substances. We also assessed possible effect differences between men and women (Koskela et al 2022) by additionally including a sex-interaction term to our models. If the interaction estimate was significant, we performed a stratified analysis on the basis of sex or the median age (54 years).…”