title: Perfluorinated compounds in whole blood samples from infants, children, and adults in China.
abstract: Two hundred and forty five human blood (whole blood) samples from Chinese donors aged from 0 to 90 yrs were analyzed for 10 perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were the most abundant PFCs found in blood. The median concentration of PFOS was lower in nonadults (i.e., infants, toddlers, children, and adolescents) (2.52-5.55 ng/mL) than in adults (8.07 ng/mL). However, median concentration of PFOA in nonadults (1.23-2.42 ng/mL) was higher than that found in adults (1.01 ng/mL). A significant increase in PFOS (r = 0.468, p < 0.01) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) (r = 0.357, p < 0.01) concentrations with age was found, while PFOA concentrations (r = -0.344, p < 0.01) were negatively correlated with age. No significant gender-related differences in PFC concentrations were found across all ages. The composition profiles of PFCs, as identified by principal component analysis, varied for each age group; this suggested differences in sources and pathways of exposure to PFCs for different age groups. Based on the blood PFC concentration, we estimated the daily intake of PFOS by adults using a one-compartment toxicokinetic model. The modeled daily intake of PFOS agreed well with the calculated daily intake via diet and indoor dust (0.74 vs 1.19 ng/kg b.w. for males, 1.20 vs 1.15 ng/kg b.w. for females) suggesting that dietary intake and dust ingestion are the major exposure routes to PFOS exposure in China. This is the first comprehensive study on PFCs in human blood from infants, toddlers, children, and adolescents in China. The data are valuable for understanding the sources and pathways of human exposure to PFCs for different age groups.
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hong Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Xian Zhong
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Se Hun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Kurunthachalam
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kannan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008875:Middle Aged; D011786:Quality Control; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005466:Fluorocarbons