Toxic chemicals lurking in cookware, make-up and toiletries can damage the heart, another study suggested today.
Scientists have been warning for years about the dangers of perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
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 recent evidence from Dutch and German researchers suggests that the impact of PFAS on human health may be even greater than previously thought.
Tests showed “clear” signs that PFAS led to higher levels of “harmful” blood lipids, such as cholesterol and other fats.
Scientists have been warning for years about the dangers of perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Dubbed ‘forever chemicals’ – because they can linger in the environment for thousands of years – they have been linked to everything from cancer to infertility. But recent evidence from Dutch and German researchers suggests that the impact of PFAS in the blood may be even greater than suspected
The results do not prove that the plastic particles cause unwanted heart problems, as the patients could have been exposed to other risk factors. Researchers said the findings should, however, serve as a warning that “there may be no safe levels below which exposure is without health risk”. 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 results do not prove that chemicals added to cookware, carpets, textiles and other items to make them more water and stain resistant cause unwanted heart problems because other factors may be at play.
Researchers said the findings should, however, serve as a warning that “there may be no safe levels below which exposure is without health risk”.
Professor Monique Breteler, study author and director of population health science at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), said: ‘We see clear evidence of a harmful effect of PFAS on health.
‘We have found that at the same PFAS concentration in the blood, the negative effects are more pronounced in younger test subjects than in older ones.
“Our data show a statistically significant association between PFAS in the blood and harmful blood lipids associated with cardiovascular risk.”
However, she noted: ‘The higher the PFAS level, the higher the concentration of these lipids.
“Strictly speaking, this is not yet evidence that PFAS chemicals cause adverse blood lipid profiles.”
PFAS are a class of chemicals more commonly known as per and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Renowned for their durability and stain-resistant properties, they have been used in a multitude of products from nonstick cookware to clothing, packaging, cosmetics and even children’s toys.
But industries are now moving away from them because of their harmful effects.
When PFAS enter the body either through food and water that people eat and drink or by inhaling polluted air, they can be distributed throughout the body in tissues and organs.
PFAS has previously been linked to, among other things, kidney cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer.
While these links are not definitive and research is ongoing, part of the concern is because PFAS are so ubiquitous in modern life and persist so long in the environment that they can infiltrate water supplies, further increasing exposure.
The Government’s Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) currently sets a limit of 0.1 microgram per liter. liters (μg/L) for PFAS in UK tap water, with the body running a specific program that tests for levels in UK water supplies.
In their study, researchers at the DZNE and Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands analyzed blood samples from over 2,500 Dutch men and women aged between 30 and 89.
PFAS was detected in the blood of almost all test subjects.
Professor Breteler added: “Although we do not see an immediate health threat to the study participants we examined, the situation is still worrying.
‘In the long term, the increased risk may well have a negative impact on the heart and cardiovascular system.’
The results were published in the journal Exposure and health.
All three types of PFAS saw ‘statistically significant associations’ with higher levels of lipids, cholesterol, fatty acids as well as albumin, a protein made by the liver.
The associations were also almost always stronger in the younger compared to the older age group.
“We interpret our data to indicate that even low PFAS levels in the general population can have a deleterious effect on lipid metabolism,” the team added.
But researchers acknowledged that their results did not assess organ-specific accumulation of PFAS.
Future studies should assess specific organ biopsies to examine the effect of PFAS on various health markers, they said.