In a recent study featuring the work of STEEP Project 2 Lead, Philippe Grandjean, researchers identified the need for additional concrete evidence to understand the relationship between PFAS, blood transport of cholesterol and triglycerides, and coronary heart disease (CHD); previous research clarifying the risk has been limited and inconsistent.
Published in Environmental Health, research leaned on a case–control study of CHD conducted in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) and Nurses’ Health Study (NHS). Among participants who initially had no indications of cardiovascular disease in 1994 (HPFS) or 1990 (NHS), 101 participants who later developed non-fatal heart attacks or fatal CHD were identified and verified. For each individual, a healthy control was identified to match age, smoking status, and date of blood draw. Following the matching process, blood plasma levels were measured for several PFAS, including perfuorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfuorooctanoic acid (PFOA), total perfuorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), branched PFOS (brPFOS), linear PFOS (nPFOS), perfuorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfuorodecanoic acid (PFDA). The draws were then used to identify associations between baseline PFAS and CHD risk. Models were applied to study PFAS associations with blood transport.
Research found upon measurement that total PFOS, brPFOS and nPFOS were significantly associated with increased risk of developing CHD, and increased association was identified for these PFAS with increased accumulation. The study found that other PFAS measured were not associated with CHD risk. PFNA and PFDA were positively associated with total apolipoprotein E (apoE), a protein that plays a crucial role in the transport and metabolism of fats in the body.
Conclusively, PFOS, brPFOS, and nPFOS were positively associated with CHD risk, suggesting that PFOS exposure causes public health risks greater than previously understood.
Zhu, L.; Liu, B.; Hu, Y.; Wang, M.; Furtado, J. D.; Rimm, E. B.; Grandjean, P.; Sun, Q. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, Apolipoproteins and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in US Men and Women. Environmental Health 2024 23 (1), 108.
