PFAS in Blood Linked to Cardiovascular Risk

According to estimates, over 10,000 distinct per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFAS) have been created since their creation in the 1950s.

Because of their ability to repel water, fat, and dirt, they are used in thousands of items, including cosmetics and dental floss, as well as pan coatings and fire-extinguishing foam. In addition to their basic chemical structure, PFAS have another characteristic: they are practically non-biodegradable. They enter the human food chain mostly from groundwater sources.

Younger individuals are more affected.

The Bonn researchers’ findings represent the most recent contribution to the ongoing debate about the effects of PFAS on human health.

“We see clear evidence of PFAS’s detrimental influence on health. And we discovered that at the same PFAS levels in the blood, the negative consequences are more severe in younger patients than in older ones,” explains Prof. Dr. Monique Breteler, Director of Population Health Sciences at DZNE. The current study also found that even relatively low PFAS concentrations in the blood are related to poor blood lipid profiles.

“Our data shows a statistically significant correlation between PFAS in the blood and harmful blood lipids linked to cardiovascular risk. The higher the PFAS level, the higher the concentration of these lipids. Taken strictly, this is not yet proof that PFAS chemicals cause unfavorable blood lipid profiles.”

“However, the close correlation supports this suspicion. It is a strong argument for stricter regulation of PFAS in order to protect health,” said the Bonn researcher.

Surprisingly, PFAS could be found in the blood of nearly all test subjects. This means you will be unable to escape these pollutants. “Even if we do not perceive an immediate health risk for the research individuals we studied, the issue remains concerning. Breteler believes that in the long run, the increased risk may have a harmful influence on the heart and circulatory system.

Blood specimens from Bonn and the Netherlands

The current study is based on DZNE’s “Rhineland Study,” a population-based health study in the Bonn urban region, and the so-called NEO study from the Netherlands (“Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity Study”). In this context, DZNE researchers worked with experts from the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

Blood samples collected from more than 2,500 women and men aged 30 to 89 were included in the analyses. This was accomplished with cutting-edge technology. “The technology to analyze blood samples with the accuracy required for our research has only become available in recent years,” explains DZNE scientist Elvire Landstra. She is the initial author of the present publication, along with a colleague from Leiden.

The most extensive study so far

The blood samples were thoroughly tested using a sophisticated technique known as mass spectrometry. The researchers focused on three of the most common kinds of PFAS—PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS— and also evaluated the content of 224 blood lipids, metabolites, and amino acids.

“With this ‘untargeted method’—an purposefully wide technique without a preconceived target—we were able to verify the connection between PFAS content and a problematic profile of fatty compounds, known as lipids. These include cholesterol and other blood lipids that have been linked to cardiovascular disease,” adds Landstra. There were no significant differences between the samples from Bonn and Leiderdorp.

“Our study is the most detailed on this topic to date and the one with the largest database. Previous studies had already suggested a correlation between PFAS and unhealthy blood lipids, but this link had never been as clear as in our study.”

The Bonn researchers advise that future studies focus on specific parts of the body. “We examined the blood levels. Breteler suggests that, as a next step, researchers should look at the presence of PFAS in individual organs.

More information: Tariq O. Faquih et al, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Concentrations are Associated with an Unfavorable Cardio-Metabolic Risk Profile: Findings from Two Population-Based Cohort Studies, Exposure and Health (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s12403-023-00622-4

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