Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Metabolic Syndrome in Elderly

摘要

BACKGROUND/AimS Recent epidemiology studies found the perfluoroalkyl substances exposure were associated with chronic diseases. The Keya River which located in the Hsinchu, Taiwan and its aquatic products have been discovered in high concentration of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Our study investigated the association between contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) exposure and metabolic syndrome in the elderly. METHODS We recruited 397 elderly residents over 60 years old in Hsinchu, Taiwan and measured the serum concentrations of PFASs. The components of the metabolic syndrome included waistline, hypertension, fasting blood glucose, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, mixed hyperlipidemia, and dyslipidemia. RESULTS We found the serum levels of PFASs including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS, C8) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, C8) were positively associated with dyslipidemia or low density lipoprotein (LDL). PFOS had significantly increased LDL levels (mg/dL) at the quartile 2 [B (95% CI) = 16.08 (7.17, 25)], the quartile 3 [B (95% CI) = 13.24 (4.23, 22.25)], and the quartile 4 [B (95% CI) = 14.06 (4.97, 23.15)] with p for trend 0.0067. PFOA also had similar findings at the quartile 3 [B (95% CI) = 9.14 (0.12, 18.16)] and quartile 4 [B (95% CI) = 9.34 (0.29,18.39)] with p for trend 0.0221. The male elders had stronger association with the PFAs exposure than female elders. CONCLUSIONS Exposure to the PFASs had the impact of metabolic syndrome, especially in the male elder. The health risks of those exposures need further exploration.