Associations of perfluorooctane sulfonate alternatives and serum lipids in Chinese adults

Jianping Cong; Chu Chu; Qing-Qing Li; Yang Zhou; Zhengmin Min Qian; Sarah Dee Geiger; Michael G Vaughn; Xiao-Wen Zeng; Ru-Qing Liu; Li-Wen Hu; Bo-Yi Yang; Gongbo Chen; Mohammed Zeeshan; Xiao Sun; Mingdeng Xiang; Guang-Hui Dong

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2021.106596

Associations of perfluorooctane sulfonate alternatives and serum lipids in Chinese adults

Environ Int. 2021 Oct:155:106596. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106596. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Shenyang Women's and Children's Hospital, Shenyang 110011, China; Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
² Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
³ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Guangzhou 510655, China.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College for Public Health & Social Justice, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA.
⁵ Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
⁶ School of Social Work, College for Public Health & Social Justice, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA.
⁷ Department of Internal Medicine, Shenyang Women's and Children's Hospital, Shenyang 110011, China. Electronic address: sunxiao-124@163.com.
⁸ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Guangzhou 510655, China. Electronic address: xiangmingdeng@scies.org.
⁹ Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. Electronic address: donggh5@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33940391
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106596

Abstract

Background: Chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonic acids (Cl-PFESAs), a group of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) alternatives, can be widely observed in humans and environmental matrices. However, associations between exposure to Cl-PFESAs and serum lipid levels in adults are unknown.

Objective: To explore the relationships between Cl-PFESA levels and serum lipid levels in adults.

Methods: We analyzed 1238 adults from the Isomers of C8 Health Project, a cross-sectional study conducted in China from July 2015 to October 2016. The average age of the participants was 61.98 ± 14.40 years. We quantified two select legacy per- and perfluoroalkyl substances [perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and PFOS] and their alternatives (6:2 and 8:2 Cl-PFESAs). We also measured four serum lipids: low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG). We used generalized linear models to estimate the associations between PFASs and serum lipids, with PFASs defined as either a categorical variable divided into quartiles or as a continuous variable.

Results: We found that 6:2 Cl-PFESA was positively associated with serum TC and LDL-C. For instance, LDL-C levels in the highest quartile of 6:2 Cl-PFESA exposure (Q4) were significantly higher than those in the lowest quartile (Q1) [β: 0.19, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.08, 0.30]. Further analysis showed that one ln-ng/mL increase in 6:2 Cl-PFESA exposure corresponded to a 0.10 mmol/L (95% CI: 0.05, 0.16) LDL-C increase, and that exposure to 8:2 Cl-PFESA was negatively correlated with HDL-C (β: -0.03, 95% CI: -0.05, -0.01). TC had a similar relationship with both 6:2 Cl-PFESA and legacy PFASs. Participants with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² exhibited a stronger association between 6:2 Cl-PFESA and TC.

Conclusions: Our findings make the novel suggestion that exposure to Cl-PFESAs are adversely associated with serum lipid levels, and that such associations are also observed in legacy PFASs. Increased investigation into the effects of Cl-PFESAs exposure on human health is warranted.

Keywords: 6:2 Cl-PFESA; 8:2 Cl-PFESA; Perfluorooctane sulfonate alternatives; Serum lipids.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Alkanesulfonic Acids*
China
Cross-Sectional Studies
Fluorocarbons* / analysis
Humans
Middle Aged

Substances

Alkanesulfonic Acids
Fluorocarbons
perfluorooctane sulfonic acid