Early life exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may affect children’s bone development during adolescence, according to new research published in. Journal of the Endocrine Society.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals found in water, food, and everyday products. These “forever chemicals”, many of which persist in the environment and human body, can interfere with normal development, including bone growth.
“Adolescence is a critical period for building strong bones, and achieving optimal bone mass during this time can reduce the lifetime risk of fractures and osteoporosis,” said Jesse P. Buckley, PhD, MPH, of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill, N.C. “Our findings suggest that reducing PFAS exposure during key developmental windows can support healthy bones throughout life.”
The authors studied the blood PFAS concentrations of 218 adolescents ages 3, 8 and 12 years, at the time of potential pregnancy and delivery. They measured bone density at age 12 and found that teens with higher blood perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) levels had lower forearm bone density.
For other PFAS, links to bone density vary depending on when exposure occurs, suggesting that certain developmental stages may be particularly vulnerable. The association of PFAS levels with lower bone density was stronger in women than in men.
“These findings add to the growing evidence that PFAS exposure during early life can have long-term health consequences, underscoring the importance of efforts to reduce contamination in drinking water and consumer products,” Buckley said.
Other study authors are Katherine Marquess of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD; Joseph Braun of Brown University in Providence, RI; Antonia Calafat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia; Kim Cecil, Hailey Wasserman, Yingying Xu and Kimberly Yolton of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio; Aimin Chen of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Bruce Lanphear of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada; and Jordan Kuiper of the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health in Washington, D.C.
The study received funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances and adolescent bone mineral density: assessment of the period of sensitivity,” Was published online.
