Dataset Information

Reductions in serum lipids with a 4-year decline in serum perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid.

ABSTRACT: Several epidemiological cross-sectional studies have found positive associations between serum concentrations of lipids and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, or C8). A longitudinal study should be less susceptible to biases from uncontrolled confounding or reverse causality.We investigated the association between within-individual changes in serum PFOA and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and changes in serum lipid levels (low-density lipoprotein [LDL] cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides) over a 4.4-year period. The study population consisted of 560 adults living in parts of Ohio and West Virginia where public drinking water had been contaminated with PFOA. They had participated in a cross-sectional study in 2005-2006, and were followed up in 2010, by which time exposure to PFOA had been substantially reduced.Overall serum concentrations of PFOA and PFOS fell by half from initial geometric means of 74.8 and 18.5 ng/mL, respectively, with little corresponding change in LDL cholesterol (mean increase 1.8%, standard deviation 26.6%). However, there was a tendency for people with greater declines in serum PFOA or PFOS to have greater LDL decrease. For a person whose serum PFOA fell by half, the predicted fall in LDL cholesterol was 3.6% (95% confidence interval = 1.5-5.7%). The association with a decline in PFOS was even stronger, with a 5% decrease in LDL (2.5-7.4%).Our findings from this longitudinal study support previous evidence from cross-sectional studies of positive associations between PFOA and PFOS in serum and LDL cholesterol.

SUBMITTER: Fitz-Simon N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4724201 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Reductions in serum lipids with a 4-year decline in serum perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid.

Fitz-Simon Nicola N Fletcher Tony T Luster Michael I MI Steenland Kyle K Calafat Antonia M AM Kato Kayoko K Armstrong Ben B

Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) 20130701 4

<h4>Background</h4>Several epidemiological cross-sectional studies have found positive associations between serum concentrations of lipids and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, or C8). A longitudinal study should be less susceptible to biases from uncontrolled confounding or reverse causality.<h4>Methods</h4>We investigated the association between within-individual changes in serum PFOA and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and changes in serum lipid levels (low-density lipoprotein [LDL] cholester ...[more]

PMID: 23685825

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Project description:BackgroundImpaired kidney function and earlier menopause were associated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) serum levels in previous cross-sectional studies. Reverse causation, whereby health outcomes increase serum PFOA, may underlie these associations.ObjectiveWe compared measured (subject to reverse causation) versus modeled (unaffected by reverse causation) serum PFOA in association with these outcomes to examine the possible role of reverse causation in these associations.MethodsIn cross-sectional analyses, we analyzed PFOA in relation to self-reported menopause among women (n = 9,192) 30-65 years old and in relation to kidney function among adults > 20 years old (n = 29,499) in a highly exposed Mid-Ohio Valley cohort. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, a marker of kidney function) and serum PFOA concentration were measured in blood samples collected during 2005-2006. Retrospective year-specific serum PFOA estimates were modeled independently of measured PFOA based on residential history and plant emissions. Using measured and modeled PFOA in 2005 or 2006 (predictor variables), cross-sectional associations were assessed for eGFR and menopause (yes/no). We also analyzed measured PFOA (dependent variable) in relation to the number of years since menopause.ResultsMenopause and eGFR were significantly associated with measured (trend tests: p = 0.013, p = 0.0005, respectively) but not with modeled serum PFOA (p = 0.50, p = 0.76, respectively). Measured PFOA levels increased for the first 7 years after menopause (trend test, p < 0.0001), providing further evidence that the observed association between measured PFOA and menopause is subject to reverse causation for this outcome.ConclusionOur results support the conjecture that in previous studies, earlier menopause and reduced kidney function are the causes rather than the results of increased measured serum PFOA. These results suggest caution in using biomarkers in cross-sectional studies. Citation: Dhingra R, Winquist A, Darrow LA, Klein M, Steenland K. 2017. A study of reverse causation: examining the associations of perfluorooctanoic acid serum levels with two outcomes. Environ Health Perspect 125:416-421; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP273.

Dataset Information

Reductions in serum lipids with a 4-year decline in serum perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid.

Publications

Reductions in serum lipids with a 4-year decline in serum perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid.

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