Firefighters and the liver: Exposure to PFAS and PAHs in relation to liver function and serum lipids (CELSPAC-FIREexpo study)
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438463923001062?via%3Dihub |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114215 |
| Keywords | Firefighters; Occupational exposure; per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances; PFAS; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; PAHs; Mixture analysis; Liver function |
| Attached files | |
| Description | Introduction: Firefighting is one of the most hazardous occupations due to exposure to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Such exposure is suspected to affect the car-diometabolic profile, e.g., liver function and serum lipids. However, only a few studies have investigated the impact of this specific exposure among firefighters.Methods: Men included in the CELSPAC-FIREexpo study were professional firefighters (n = 52), newly recruited firefighters in training (n = 58), and controls (n = 54). They completed exposure questionnaires and provided 1-3 samples of urine and blood during the 11-week study period to allow assessment of their exposure to PFAS (6 compounds) and PAHs (6 compounds), and to determine biomarkers of liver function (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin (BIL)) and levels of serum lipids (total cholesterol (CHOL), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides (TG)). The associations between biomarkers were investigated both cross-sectionally using multiple linear regression (MLR) and Bayesian weighted quantile sum (BWQS) regression and prospec-tively using MLR. The models were adjusted for potential confounders and false discovery rate correction was applied to account for multiplicity.Results: A positive association between exposure to PFAS and PAH mixture and BIL (8 = 28.6%, 95% CrI = 14.6-45.7%) was observed by the BWQS model. When the study population was stratified, in professional firefighters and controls the mixture showed a positive association with CHOL (8 = 29.5%, CrI = 10.3-53.6%) and LDL (8 = 26.7%, CrI = 8.3-48.5%). No statistically significant associations with individual compounds were detected using MLR.Conclusions: This study investigated the associations between exposure to PFAS and PAHs and biomarkers of cardiometabolic health in the Czech men, including firefighters. The results suggest that higher exposure to a mixture of these compounds is associated with an increase in BIL and the alteration of serum lipids, which can result in an unfavourable cardiometabolic profile. |
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