Summary
This study investigated whether per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) affect bone mineral density (BMD) during adolescence, a critical period for bone development. Researchers analyzed data from 304 Hispanic adolescents in the SOLAR study and 137 young adults from the Children’s Health Study, measuring PFAS levels in blood and tracking BMD over time. The results showed that higher exposure to PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) was associated with lower bone mineral density, particularly in the trunk region of adolescents. Similar associations were observed in young adults, where higher PFOS levels were linked to lower total BMD. Other PFAS compounds did not show clear associations. Overall, the findings suggest that PFOS exposure during adolescence and early adulthood may negatively affect bone development, potentially increasing the risk of osteoporosis later in life.
PMID: 38061983
PMCID: PMC10922273
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117611
Abstract
Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may impair bone development in adolescence, which impacts life-long bone health. No previous studies have examined prospective associations of individual PFAS and their mixture with bone mineral density (BMD) changes in Hispanic young persons, a population at high risk of osteoporosis in adulthood.
Objectives: To examine associations of individual PFAS and PFAS mixtures with longitudinal changes in BMD in an adolescent Hispanic cohort and examine generalizability of findings in a mixed-ethnicity young adult cohort (58.4% Hispanic).
Methods: Overweight/obese adolescents from the Study of Latino Adolescents at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes (SOLAR; n = 304; mean follow-up = 1.4 years) and young adults from the Southern California Children's Health Study (CHS; n = 137; mean follow-up = 4.1 years) were included in this study. Plasma PFAS were measured at baseline and dual x-ray absorptiometry scans were performed at baseline and follow-up to measure BMD. We estimated longitudinal associations between BMD and five PFAS via separate covariate-adjusted linear mixed effects models, and between BMD and the PFAS mixture via quantile g-computation.
Results: In SOLAR adolescents, baseline plasma perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) was associated with longitudinal changes in BMD. Each doubling of PFOS was associated with an average -0.003 g/cm2 difference in change in trunk BMD per year over follow-up (95% CI: -0.005, -0.0002). Associations with PFOS persisted in CHS young adults, where each doubling of plasma PFOS was associated with an average -0.032 g/cm2 difference in total BMD at baseline (95% CI -0.062, -0.003), though longitudinal associations were non-significant. We did not find associations of other PFAS with BMD; associations of the PFAS mixture with BMD outcomes were primarily negative though non-significant.
Discussion: PFOS exposure was associated with lower BMD in adolescence and young adulthood, important periods for bone development, which may have implications on future bone health and risk of osteoporosis in adulthood.