Serum Concentrations of 11 Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds in the U.S. Population:  Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999−2000

Abstract

We measured the concentrations of 11 polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs), including perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) in 1562 serum samples collected from a representative U.S. population 12 years of age and older in the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants represented both sexes, three race/ethnicities (non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic whites, and Mexican-Americans), and four age categories (12-19 years, 20-39 years, 40-59 years, and 60 years and older). PFCs were extracted from 100 microL of serum using on-line solid-phase extraction coupled to isotope dilution-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; limits of detection ranged from 0.05 to 0.2 ng/ mL. PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, and perfluorooctane sulfonamide were detected in all samples analyzed; 2-(N-ethyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamido) acetic acid, 2-(N-methyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamido) acetic acid, and perfluorononanoic acid were detected in more than 90% of samples, which suggests prevalent exposures to several PFCs in the U.S. population. The concentrations of most PFCs were similar regardless of the participants' ages but were higher in males than in females. Mexican Americans had lower concentrations than non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites, whose concentrations were similar. Higher education was associated with higher concentrations of PFOS and PFOA. These data will serve as a nationally representative baseline of the U.S. population's exposure to PFCs to which other populations can be compared, and will play an important role in public health by helping set research priorities, ranging from health effects studies to defining sources and pathways of exposure.

Associations between serum concentrations of perfluoroalkyl acids and serum lipid levels in a Chinese population

“…PFOA, instead of PFOS, was the dominant analyte (Pan et al, 2010;Guo et al, 2011). Consistent with other studies, the univariate analysis showed that concentrations of PFOA, PFNA and PFOS were significantly correlated with age, and concentrations of PFOA, PFNA, PFDA and PFOS appeared to be higher in males than those in females (Calafat et al, 2007;Fromme et al, 2007;Holzer et al, 2008;Haug et al, 2009;Zhang et al, 2010).…”

Association between prenatal exposure to perfluorinated compounds and symptoms of infections at age 1–4years among 359 children in the Odense Child Cohort

“…The most common types are PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid), and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), which are ubiquitously present in human serum, where they show an estimated elimination half-life of four years for PFOA and five years for PFOS (Calafat et al 2007;Kato et al 2011;Olsen et al 2007). They cross the placenta (Needham et al 2011) and are released through human milk (Mogensen et al 2015), thereby causing early-life exposure that may be worthy of concern.…”

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) affects hormone receptor activity, steroidogenesis, and expression of endocrine‐related genes in vitro and in vivo

“…Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a stable degradation product or metabolite, or both, of many PFCs. An increasing number of studies report high levels of PFOS in the environment, as well as in human samples such as blood, tissues, and breast milk [6][7][8]. This compound may accumulate through the food chain.…”