Longitudinal measures of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in serum of Gullah African Americans in South Carolina: 2003-2013

Details

• Journal Title:
  Environmental Research
• Personal Author:
  Gribble, Matthew O. ; Bartell, Scott M. ; Kannan, Kurunthachalam ; Wu, Qian ; Fair, Patricia A. ; Kamen, Diane L.
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NOS (National Ocean Service)
• Description:
  Background: Charleston Harbor has elevated concentrations of PFAS in dolphins, but local human exposure data are limited. Objectives: We sought to describe PFAS serum concentrations' temporal trends among Gullah African American residents of coastal South Carolina. Methods: Longitudinal measures of PFAS in blood serum from a Gullah clinical sample, without lupus, were examined using spaghetti plots and visit-to-visit change scores (e.g., differences in concentrations between visits) among the 68 participants with repeated measures available. We also modeled population-level trends among the 71 participants with any data using proportionate percentile models, accounting for clustering through robust standard errors. In a post-hoc analysis we examined heterogeneity of temporal trends by age through mixed-effects models for the log-transformed PFAS compounds. Results: Population concentrations of PFOS dropped approximately 9 (95% CI: 8, 10) percent each year over 2003-2013. This was concordant with individual PFOS trajectories (median PFOS change score -21.7 ng/g wet weight, interquartile range of PFOS change scores: -32.8, -14.9) and reports for other populations over this time period. Several other compounds including PFOA, PFHxS, and PFuNDA also showed a population-level decrease. However, examination of individual trajectories suggested substantial heterogeneity. Post-hoc analyses indicated that PFAS trajectories were heterogeneous by age. Conclusions: Many PFAS compounds are decreasing in a sample of Gullah African Americans from coastal South Carolina. There may be age differences in the elimination kinetics of PFASs. The possible role of age as a modifier of PFAS serum trends merits further research. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
• Source:
  Environmental Research, 143, 82-88.
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2015.03.012
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Rights Information:
  Accepted Manuscript
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:24b1b27fcdb5340c7837cd06695a8bcd772c643f90ccf94b7532188cf13382f8
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/13705/noaa_13705_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.56 MB ]