Abstract
Background: Studies on the association between perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are limited, and results are inconsistent. We aimed to examine the associations between PFAS serum levels and the prevalence of MetS among highly exposed young adults (ages 20–39) residents of a large area of the Veneto Region (North-Eastern Italy) primarily stemming from PFAS water contamination before September 2013. A total of 15,876 eligible young adult residents living in the investigated municipalities were enrolled in the study from January 2017 to July 2019. Methods: MetS was defined by using a modified harmonized definition requiring the presence of 3 of the following: obesity (body mass index ≥30), elevated triglyceride (TG), reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and hemoglobin A1c ≥ 6.1% or self-reported diabetes mellitus or drug treatment for hyperglycemia. Multivariable generalized additive models were performed to identify the associations between four serum PFAS, including perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and risk of MetS controlling for potential confounders. Results: A total of 1282 participants (8.1%) met the criteria of MetS with a higher prevalence among men. PFOA, PFHxS, and PFNA were not associated with the risk of MetS, whereas PFOS showed a consistent protective effect against the risk of MetS (OR 0.76, (95% CI: 0.69, 0.85) per ln-PFOS). However, we found statistically significant positive associations between PFAS serum levels and individual components of MetS, mainly elevated blood pressure and elevated TG. Conclusion: Our results did not support a consistent association between PFAS and MetS and conflicting findings were observed for individual components of MetS.
Highlights
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) failed to show positive significant associations with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and depending upon the specific perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and MetS component under investigation, either null, deleterious or protective associations were observed with borderline to statistical significance
No association was observed between PFOA, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), PFHxS, and MetS in different cross-sectional studies, which is concordant with our analysis [15,16,17,18,21,30,36]
No association was observed between PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, and MetS in different cross-sectional studies, which is concordant with our analysis [17,18,19,20]
Summary
We aimed to examine the associations between PFAS serum levels and the prevalence of MetS among highly exposed young adults residents of a large area of the Veneto Region (North-Eastern Italy) primarily stemming from PFAS water contamination before September 2013. The main objective of the present study is to (1) describe the prevalence of
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International journal of environmental research and public health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
