Concentrations and association between exposure to mixed perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and glycometabolism among adolescents

Wu Yan; Ruhai Bai; Qingqing Zheng; Xiaona Yang; Yanan Shi; Ruizhe Yang; Chenjun Jiang; Xu Wang; Xiaonan Li

doi:10.1080/07853890.2023.2227844

Concentrations and association between exposure to mixed perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and glycometabolism among adolescents

Ann Med. 2023 Dec;55(1):2227844. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2023.2227844.

Authors

Wu Yan¹, Ruhai Bai², Qingqing Zheng¹, Xiaona Yang³, Yanan Shi¹, Ruizhe Yang⁴, Chenjun Jiang⁵, Xu Wang⁶, Xiaonan Li^{1

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Children Health Care, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
² School of Public Affairs, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
⁴ Department of Prevention and Health Care, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
⁵ Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
⁶ Department of Endocrinology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
⁷ Institute of Pediatric Research, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.

Abstract

Background: Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are widely used for industrial and commercial purposes and have received increasing attention due to their adverse effects on health.

Objective: To examine the relationship of serum PFAS and glycometabolism among adolescents based on the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Methods: General linear regression models were applied to estimate the relationship between exposure to single PFAS and glycometabolism. Weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression models and Bayesian kernel machine regressions (BKMR) were used to assess the associations between multiple PFASs mixture exposure and glycometabolism.

Results: A total of 757 adolescents were enrolled. Multivariable regression model showed that Me-PFOSA-AcOH exposure was negatively associated with fasting blood glucose. WQS index showed that there was marginal negative correlation between multiple PFASs joint exposure and the homeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) (β = -0.26, p < .068), and PFHxS had the largest weight. BKMR models showed that PFASs mixture exposure were associated with decreased INS and HOMA-IR, and the exposure-response relationship had curvilinear shape.

Conclusions: The increase in serum PFASs were associated with a decrease in HOMA-IR among adolescents. Mixed exposure models could more accurately and effectively reveal true exposure.Key MessagesThe detection rates of different PFAS contents in adolescent serum remained diverse.Adolescent serum PFASs had negative curvilinear correlation with INS and HOMA-IR levels.PFHxS had the highest weight in the associations between multiple PFASs and adolescent glycometabolism.

Keywords: NHANES; PFASs; adolescents; glycometabolism; mixed exposure.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Bayes Theorem
Environmental Pollutants* / adverse effects
Environmental Pollutants* / analysis
Fluorocarbons* / adverse effects
Humans
Insulin
Nutrition Surveys

Substances

Environmental Pollutants
Fluorocarbons
Insulin

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81773421), Jiangsu Funding Program for Excellent Postdoctoral Talent (2022ZB800), Nanjing Medical Science and Technology Development Key Project (ZKX21043) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2022M721683).