The association between PFOA, PFOS and serum lipid levels in adolescents.
BACKGROUND
Dyslipidemia in children is associated with accelerated atherosclerosis and earlier cardiovascular disease development. Environmental exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) have been shown to be associated with dyslipidemia in adults. However, there are few general population studies examining this association in children or adolescents. In this context, we examined the association between serum PFOA and PFOS levels and dyslipidemia in a nationally representative sample of US adolescents.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was performed on 815 participants ⩽18 years of age from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2008. The main outcome was dyslipidemia, defined as total cholesterol >170 mg/dL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) >110 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) <40 mg/dL or triglycerides >150 mg/dL.


RESULTS
We found that serum PFOA and PFOS were positively associated with high total cholesterol and LDL-C, independent of age, sex, race-ethnicity, body mass index, annual household income, physical activity and serum cotinine levels. Compared to subjects in quartile 1 (referent), the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for high total cholesterol among children in quartile 4 was 1.16 (1.05-2.12) for PFOA and 1.53 (1.11-1.64) for PFOS. PFOA and PFOS were not significantly associated with abnormal HDL-C and triglyceride levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings indicate that serum PFOA and PFOS are significantly associated with dyslipidemia in adolescents, even at the lower "background" exposure levels of the US general population.
Department of Public Health and Health Education, Northern Illinois University, School of Nursing and Health Studies, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA. Electronic address: Geiger@niu.edu.
Sarah Dee
SD
Geiger
Registration and Records, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Jie
J
Xiao
Department of Epidemiology, West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA; Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
Alan
A
Ducatman
Department of Epidemiology, West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA; Department of Health Policy, Management, and Leadership, West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
Stephanie
S
Frisbee
Department of Epidemiology, West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
Kim
K
Innes
Department of Epidemiology, West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
Anoop
A
Shankar
D000293:Adolescent; D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids / Q000097:blood*; D002210:Caprylates / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys
D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids; D002210:Caprylates; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D005466:Fluorocarbons; C023036:perfluorooctanoic acid; C076994:perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
Dyslipidemia; Lipids; PFC; Perfluoroalkyl chemicals; Perfluorooctane sulfonate; Perfluorooctanoic acid