Perfluoroalkyl substances and food allergies in adolescents

Abstract

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a class of organic compounds that are persistent in the environment due to their stable carbon-fluorine backbone, which is not susceptible to degradation. Research suggests these chemicals may exert an immunotoxic effect. The aim of this study is to investigate the associations between four PFASs – perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) – with food sensitization and food allergies in adolescent participants (ages 12–19years) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005–2006 and 2007–2010, respectively. We performed multivariate logistic regression to analyze the association between individual PFASs with food sensitization (defined as having at least 1 food-specific IgE level≥0.35kU/L) in NHANES 2005–2006 and food allergies (self-reported) in NHANES 2007–2010. Serum PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS were statistically significantly associated with higher odds to have self-reported food allergies in NHANES 2007–2010. When using IgE levels as a marker of food sensitization, we found that serum PFNA was inversely associated with food sensitization (NHANES 2005–2006). In conclusion, we found that serum levels of PFASs were associated with higher odds to have self-reported food allergies. Conversely, adolescents with higher serum PFNA were less likely to be sensitized to food allergens. These results, along with previous studies, warrant further investigation, such as well-designed longitudinal studies.