Endocrine-disrupting chemicals may reduce bone density among children and young adults
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Key takeaways:
- Exposure to higher concentrations of some types of PFAS was associated with BMD reductions in children and young adults.
- Researchers said minimizing PFAS exposure could help preserve bone health.
Exposure to higher levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals may hinder bone development for children, adolescents and young adults, according to study findings published in Environmental Research.
In an analysis of data from two independent groups of youths, exposure to greater levels of some types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) was associated with decreases in bone mineral density, though associations varied based on PFAS type and sex.
“These findings are important because adolescence and young adulthood are important periods for development of BMD, which peaks in young adulthood and decreases over the rest of the lifespan,” Emily Beglarian, MPH, an epidemiology PhD student and environmental health research assistant at the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California, told Healio. “Lower bone density in young adulthood can be a predictor of osteoporosis later in life, so it’s important to identify factors that may be associated with lower bone density during this time to protect bone health across the lifetime.”
Beglarian and colleagues obtained data from two study cohorts. The Study of Latino Adolescents at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes (SOLAR) cohort included 304 Hispanic or Latino children and adolescents aged 8 to 13 years with a BMI in the 85th percentile or higher for age and sex, a family history of type 2 diabetes and no diabetes diagnosis (mean age, 11.3 years; 42.4% boys). The Southern California Children’s Health Study (CHS) included 158 adolescents and young adults aged 17 to 22 years with a history of overweight or obesity earlier in adolescence and no diabetes diagnosis (mean age, 19.9 years; 58.4% Hispanic, 55.5% male). All participants had plasma PFAS measured at baseline. DXA scans were performed to measure BMD at baseline and follow-up. Five types of PFAS were measured in the study.
Among SOLAR participants, each doubling of plasma perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) exposure was associated with a 0.003 g/cm2 decrease in trunk BMD per year. Children in the 90th percentile of PFOS exposure had a 0.043 g/cm2 lower trunk BMD than those in the 10th percentile (P = .04). In sex-stratified analysis, each doubling of PFOS was associated with a 0.004 g/cm2 decrease in trunk BMD per year for boys. Additionally, each doubling of exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was linked to a 0.005 g/cm2 decrease in trunk BMD per year for boys. No associations were observed for girls.
When all PFAS types were combined for SOLAR participants, each quartile increase in PFAS exposure was associated with a 0.008 g/cm2 reduction in total BMD per year.
Among participants in CHS, no associations were observed between the doubling of any PFAS and change in BMD. However, males in the 90th percentile of PFOS exposure had a 0.051 g/cm2 lower total BMD than those in the 10th percentile (P = .043). Among males, each doubling of PFOS exposure was associated with a 0.005 g/cm2 increase in total BMD per year. No associations were observed for females.
“The body of evidence is growing that suggests that clinicians should be offering blood PFAS testing to patients in order to help identify those patients that may be at high risk of certain health conditions,” Beglarian said. “The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine published a report recommending that clinicians test blood PFAS levels in patients. In patients that have high levels of PFAS, they recommend additional screenings for health conditions that have been shown to be associated with PFAS exposure, such as dyslipidemia and certain cancers. We hope that our findings contribute to evidence of negative bone health outcomes associated with PFAS exposure, so clinicians are aware that patients with high PFAS levels may demonstrate lower BMD.”
Beglarian said the research team plans to conduct more studies in different population groups as well as analyzing more types of PFAS in the future.
“We need more studies to evaluate how newer, unregulated PFAS also impact bone health to understand how we should be regulating these new PFAS,” Beglarian said. “Finally, moving forward, we hope to figure out how PFAS are working at a cellular level to cause lower BMD. We are planning to continue this research by incorporating data on biological proteins, as proteins are heavily involved in the building and maintenance of bone.”
For more information:
Emily Beglarian, MPH, can be reached at ebeglari@usc.edu.
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