title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA.
authors.forename: Melanie C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Buser
authors.affiliation: Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA. Electronic address: fes6@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scinicariello
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000097:blood*; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005466:Fluorocarbons
keywords: Adolescents; Food allergies; NHANES; Perfluoroalkyl compounds