Prepare meals at home to limit PFAS endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure
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Key takeaways:
- Young adults who drink more tea and eat more pork and processed meat had higher serum PFAS levels.
- Preparing more meals at home was associated with lower PFAS exposure.
Young adults who eat more servings of processed meat and pork and drink more tea are exposed to higher levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, according to study results published in Environmental International.
In addition, those who ate more meals prepared at home compared with at restaurants had lower EDC levels.
In an analysis of data from the Children’s Health Study (CHS) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers examined correlations between food and beverage consumption and levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In addition to certain food types being associated with PFAS concentrations, researchers found young adults who eat more takeout or fast food had higher serum levels of PFAS.
“While some of these results, like tea, require additional testing to figure out where the PFAS contamination may be coming from, in general, our study suggests a few ways to reduce PFAS exposure,” Hailey E. Hampson, MS, a doctoral student in the division of environmental health at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, told Healio. “In general, our findings suggest that eating more home-prepared foods, limiting takeout and fast food containers, reducing processed meat consumption and potentially drinking tea in moderation may help reduce PFAS exposure.”
Hampson and colleagues obtained data from 88 young adults aged 17 to 22 years who participated in the CHS baseline study from 2014 to 2018, completed a follow-up visit at 4 years and had complete PFAS data available at follow-up (58% Hispanic; 54% men). Data were also obtained from 604 young adults aged 17 to 22 years who participated in NHANES from 2013 to 2018 (31% Hispanic; 53% men). Food and beverage intakes were obtained from two 24-hour dietary recalls in both studies. Blood samples were collected from all participants to assess serum PFAS levels.
Processed meats increase PFAS
Among CHS participants, each additional serving of sweet condiment was associated with a 19.8% higher level of perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) at baseline, whereas each serving of tap water was associated with a 2.79% lower level of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), a 3.18% lower level of perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) and a 2.42% lower level of perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS) at baseline.
Consumption of several foods and drinks were associated with higher PFAS concentrations at follow-up among CHS participants, with the strongest associations involving tea, pork and sugar. Each one serving increase of tea was linked to a 24.8% increase in PFHxS, a 16.17% increase in PFHpS and a 12.6% increase in perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA). Each one serving of pork was associated with a 13.4% higher perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) level. Each additional serving of sugar was associated with an 18.9% decrease in PFNA level and a 13.9% decline in PFHxS level.
Among adults in the NHANES group, each additional serving hot dog serving was tied to a 25.4% increase in PFNA and each serving of processed meat increased levels of PFOA by 9.8%. Each one serving increase in unsweetened tea was associated with a 4.12% increase in PFOS concentrations.
Home meals lower PFAS exposure
Participants in CHS had a 0.9% decrease in PFOS at baseline and a 1.6% lower PFOS level at follow-up with each 200 g serving of food prepared at home. Among the NHANES group, each 200 g serving of food at home lowered levels of PFDA by 0.9%. When consumption of burritos, fajitas, tacos, french fries and pizza were assessed based on their source among the NHANES participants, PFAS levels decreased when food was prepared at home and increased with food prepared at restaurants.
“These findings support the need for both public monitoring of PFAS in beverages and foods that are readily available and highly consumed, as well as policy changes to reduce PFAS exposure in the foods and beverages we buy from the grocery store or other food outlets,” Hampson said. “We need better regulations in place to ensure we are purchasing foods free from chemical contamination; just like with any other contaminants we would find harmful in our foods.”
Hampson said future studies are needed to identify dietary interventions to reduce PFAS exposure in order to develop more specific guidelines.
For more information:
Hailey E. Hampson, MS, can be reached at hhampson@usc.edu.
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