Associations between Mixture of Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Lipid Profile in a Highly Exposed Adult Community in the Veneto Region

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Sep 29;19(19):12421. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191912421.

Abstract

Background: Residents of a large area in the Veneto Region (Northeastern Italy) were exposed to drinking water contaminated by perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for decades. While exposure to PFAS has been consistently associated with elevated serum lipids, combined exposures to multiple PFASs have been poorly investigated. Utilising different statistical approaches, we examine the association between chemical mixtures and lipid parameters.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from the regional health surveillance program (34,633 individuals aged 20-64 years) were used to examine the combined effects of PFAS mixture (Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS)) on total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Weighted Quantile Sum (WQS) regression, Quantile-based G-computation (Q-Gcomp) and Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) were used based on their ability to handle highly correlated chemicals.

Results: We observed that each quartile increase in the WQS index was associated with an increase in the levels of TC (β: 4.09, 95% CI: 3.47-4.71), HDL-C (β: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.92-1.33) and LDL-C (β: 3.14, 95% CI: 2.65-3.63). Q-Gcomp estimated that a quartile increase in the PFAS mixture was associated with increased TC (ψ: 4.04, 95% CI 3.5-4.58), HDL-C (ψ: 1.07, 95% CI 20.87-1.27) and LDL-C (ψ: 2.71, 95% CI 2.23-3.19). In the BKMR analysis, the effect of PFAS mixture on serum lipids increased significantly when their concentrations were at their 75th percentiles or above, compared to those at their 50th percentile. All methods revealed a major contribution of PFOS and PFNA, although the main exposure was due to PFOA. We found suggestive evidence that associations varied when stratified by gender.

Conclusions: The PFAS mixture was positively associated with lipid parameters, regardless of the applied method. Very similar results obtained from the three methods may be attributed to the linear positive association with the outcomes and no interaction between each PFAS.

Keywords: BKMR; G-computation; WQS; cholesterol; combined exposure; contaminated water; lipid; mixture; perfluoroalkyl substances.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Alkanesulfonic Acids*
  • Bayes Theorem
  • Caprylates
  • Cholesterol, HDL
  • Cholesterol, LDL
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Drinking Water*
  • Environmental Pollutants*
  • Fluorocarbons* / toxicity
  • Humans
  • Lipids

Substances

  • Alkanesulfonic Acids
  • Caprylates
  • Cholesterol, HDL
  • Cholesterol, LDL
  • Drinking Water
  • Environmental Pollutants
  • Fluorocarbons
  • Lipids
  • perfluorooctanoic acid
  • perfluorooctane sulfonic acid

Grants and funding

REGIONE VENETO (IT) through “Consorzio per la Ricerca Sanitaria—CORIS” (DGRV n. 1894, 29 December 2020) supported this research with a grant to Cristina Canova. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.