by John-Michael Dumais, Childrens Health Defense:
Exposure to PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” is associated with an increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease, kidney cancer and testicular cancer, according to a new Italian study.
The longitudinal study, published April 16 in Environmental Health, is the first to formally demonstrate the link between perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure and cardiovascular mortality in the world’s largest exposed population, according to the authors.
The findings add to the growing body of evidence on the health risks associated with PFAS, a group of synthetic chemicals used in a wide range of consumer products and industrial applications.
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Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week announced it finalized a rule designating PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Superfund law. And on April 10, the agency announced the first enforceable legal limits for PFAS in drinking water.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week published an update on testing results for PFAS in food, indicating potential danger with the chemicals accumulating in fish. Additionally, it disclosed a revised testing method that can identify nearly twice as many PFAS chemicals in food.
The study and announcements come amid recent news exposing the presence of PFAS in Band-Aids, plastic food containers, firefighter gear and artificial turf, raising concerns about the ubiquity of these substances and their effect on human health.
‘Great and tragic natural experiment’ of PFAS contamination
The Italian study, led by researchers from the University of Padua, focused on an area in the Veneto region of northern Italy with a total population of about 150,000.
The area has been affected by PFAS water contamination since the 1980s, primarily due to emissions from a manufacturing plant that produced PFAS-containing products.
The area qualified as “the world’s largest episode of PFAS water contamination reported so far,” according to the study’s authors.
The researchers analyzed mortality data of nearly 60,000 people from 1980 to 2018, comparing the exposed population to a reference group from the same region.
They found that during the 34 years following the onset of PFAS contamination in 1985, the exposed population experienced 3,890 more deaths than expected based on the mortality rates of the reference group.
“In other words, every three days there were 12 deaths vs. 11 expected,” the authors said.
The excess deaths were largely attributed to cardiovascular disease, with the exposed population showing a significantly higher risk of dying from heart diseases, especially ischemic heart disease, characterized by the buildup of coronary plaque known as atherosclerosis that blocks arteries over time.
The study also found increased mortality from kidney and testicular cancers, consistent with previous research suggesting a link between PFAS exposure and these malignancies.
In the most affected area studied (Red area A), the odds of mortality from kidney cancer were 73% higher from 2015 to 2018.
Between 1985 and 1999, the researchers found an overall 40% increase in the odds of mortality from testicular cancer and a 156% increase for the most affected area.
However, no additional risk was noted after 1999, which the authors attributed to improvements in the treatment of the disease.
The strength of the Italian study lies in its unique design, which leverages the “great and tragic natural experiment” of the PFAS contamination in the Veneto region.
By comparing the exposed population to a reference group from the same area, the researchers were able to control for potential confounding factors and establish a clearer link between PFAS exposure and health outcomes.
However, the researchers acknowledged some limitations, such as the reliance on aggregate data at the municipality level and the inability to adjust for individual-level factors like smoking or diet.
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