title: The relationships between sixteen perfluorinated compound concentrations in blood serum and food, and other parameters, in the general population of South Korea with proportionate stratified sampling method.
abstract: Serum samples were collected from volunteers of various ages and both genders using a proportionate stratified sampling method, to assess the exposure of the general population in Busan, South Korea to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). 16 PFCs were investigated in serum samples from 306 adults (124 males and 182 females) and one day composite diet samples (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) from 20 of the serum donors, to investigate the relationship between food and serum PFC concentrations. Perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid were the dominant PFCs in the serum samples, with mean concentrations of 8.4 and 13 ng/mL, respectively. Perfluorotridecanoic acid was the dominant PFC in the composite food samples, ranging from <DL to 1.48 ng/g. PFC concentrations in the serum samples increased with the age of the volunteer, and were higher in males than in females, similar to the results of other studies. We confirmed from the relationships between questionnaire results and the PFC concentrations in the serum samples, that food is one of the important contribution factors of human exposure to PFCs. However, there were no correlations between the PFC concentrations in the one day composite diet samples and the serum samples, because a one day composite diet sample is not necessarily representative of a person's long-term diet and because of the small number of samples taken.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pusan National University, Jangjeon-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hee-Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Science, College of Natural Sciences, Incheon National University, 12-1 Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 406-772, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Kyu
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Occupational Medicine, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Gyeongnam 626-870, Republic of Korea; Environmental Health Center for Asbestos, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Gyeongnam 626-770, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Mug
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Center for Asbestos, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Gyeongnam 626-770, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yong-Sik
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pusan National University, Jangjeon-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jeoh@pusan.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jeong-Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Oh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D005504:Food Analysis; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D056910:Republic of Korea
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005466:Fluorocarbons
keywords: Busan; Food intake; General population; PFOA; PFOS; Serum