Abstract 12258: Associations Between Serum Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Vascular Function

Abstract

Introduction: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFA)s are ubiquitous synthetic organic compounds used in packaging, flame retardants and stain resistant fabric. The use of older, long-chain, persistent PFAs in the U.S. has been phased out due to cardiometabolic health effects and replaced with short-chain, less persistent, alternative PFAs for which little data on cardiotoxicity exists. We evaluated the relationships between serum PFAs and noninvasive measures of vascular function by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and brachial artery reactivity testing (BART). Methods: We measured 14 serum PFAs using hybrid solid-phase extraction and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in 94 adult outpatients without CVD from an urban medical center. Using medical records and questionnaires, we collected demographic and clinical data; and measured PWV and BART using standard protocols. We assessed associations of individual PFAs with log-transformed BART and PWV using linear regression. We used weighted quantile sum regression to assess effects of correlated PFA mixtures on BART and PWV. Results: Of the 14 measured PFAs, 10 were detectable in >50% of samples, and were included for analysis. Each standard deviation increase in perfluroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) was associated with -0.17 (-0.34, -0.002) decrease in log BART. The weighted index of PFAs in mixture 1 (Table) was significantly and inversely associated with log BART; each tertile increase in the weighted index of mixture 1 was associated with a -0.29 (-0.52, -0.06) decrease in log BART, with PFHpA having the greatest weight (0.73) in the mixture. In contrast, neither individual PFAs nor PFA mixtures were associated with PWV. Conclusions: Increasing concentrations of a new, short-chain PFA, PFHpA, are associated with impaired vascular function among outpatients without CVD. Our findings contribute evidence of potential adverse cardiovascular effects of currently used PFAs.