Eternal chemicals alarm as scientists find ‘clear’ evidence that the toxic chemicals lurking in our blood can harm the heart
Toxic chemicals lurking in cookware, makeup and toiletries could be harmful to the heart, another study suggests today.
Scientists have been warning for years about the dangers of perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
They are called ‘forever chemicals’ because they can linger in the environment for hundreds of years. They have been linked to everything from cancer to infertility.
But the latest evidence from Dutch and German researchers suggests that the impact of PFAS on human health could be even greater than thought.
Tests showed ‘clear’ signs that PFAS led to higher levels of ‘harmful’ blood lipids, such as cholesterol and other fatty substances.
Scientists have been warning for years about the dangers of perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. They’re called “forever chemicals” — because they can linger in the environment for thousands of years — and have been linked to everything from cancer to infertility. But the latest evidence from Dutch and German researchers suggests that the impact of PFAS on the blood could be even greater than thought
The findings do not prove that the plastic particles cause adverse heart problems, as the patients could have been exposed to other risk factors. However, scientists said the results should serve as a warning that “there may be no safe levels below which exposure is without risk to health.” Pictured, PFAS foam collects at the Van Etten Creek dam in Oscoda Township, Michigan in 2018
Excess lipids or fats in the blood can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, studies show.
The findings do not prove that the chemicals added to cookware, carpets, textiles and other items to make them more water and stain resistant cause adverse heart problems, because other factors may play a role.
However, scientists said the results should serve as a warning that “there may be no safe levels below which exposure is without risk to health.”
Professor Monique Breteler, author of the study and director of population health sciences at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), said: ‘We see clear signs of a harmful effect of PFAS on health.
‘We have discovered that for the same PFAS concentration in the blood, the negative effects are stronger in younger subjects than in older subjects.
‘Our data show a statistically significant correlation between PFAS in the blood and harmful blood lipids associated with cardiovascular risk.’
However, she noted, “The higher the level of PFAS, the higher the concentration of these lipids.
‘Strictly speaking, this is not evidence that PFAS chemicals cause adverse blood lipid profiles.’
PFAS are a class of chemicals more commonly known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Known for their durability and stain-resistant properties, they are used in a wide range of products, from nonstick cookware to clothing, packaging, cosmetics and even children’s toys.
But industries are now moving away from it due to its harmful effects.
When PFAS enter the body through food and water that people eat and drink or by breathing polluted air, they can spread throughout the body into tissues and organs.
PFAS has previously been linked to kidney cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer, among others.
While these links are not definitive and research is still being done, part of the concern is that PFAS are so ubiquitous in modern life and persist in the environment for so long that they could infiltrate water supplies, causing exposure increases further.
The government’s Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) currently sets a limit of 0.1 micrograms per liter (μg/L) for PFAS in tap water in Britain, with the agency running a specific program to test levels in UK water supplies.
In their study, researchers from DZNE and the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands analyzed blood samples from more than 2,500 Dutch men and women between the ages of 30 and 89.
PFAS were found in the blood of almost all test subjects.
Professor Breteler added: ‘Even if we see no immediate health threat to the study participants we examined, the situation is still worrying.
‘In the long term, the increased risk could very well have a negative effect on the heart and cardiovascular system.’
The findings were published in the journal Exposure and health.
All three types of PFAS had “statistically significant associations” with higher levels of lipids, cholesterol, fatty acids and albumin, a protein produced by the liver.
The associations were also almost always stronger in the younger age groups than in the older age groups.
“We interpret our data to indicate that even low levels of PFAS in the general population may have a deleterious effect on lipid metabolism,” the team added.
But researchers acknowledged that their findings did not assess organ-specific accumulation of PFAS.
Future studies should assess specific organ biopsies to examine the effect of PFAS on different health markers, they said.