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Perfluoroalkyl Substances Exposure and Hearing Impairment in US Adults



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  • Personal Author:
  • Description:
    Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely applied in consumer and industrial products such as nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, food packaging materials, and fire-fighting foams. These "forever chemicals" are hypothesized to impact neurobehavioral functions. Yet no previous study has explored the role of PFAS on audiometrically determined hearing impairment (HI). Objectives: To investigate the associations of serum concentrations of perfluoroalkyl substances with low-frequency HI (LFHI) and high-frequency HI (HFHI) in US adults. Methods: We evaluated the cross-sectional associations in 2371 adults aged 20-69 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2004, 2011-2012 and 2015-2016; and 449 adults aged >/=70 years from NHANES 2005-2006 and 2009-2010. Serum concentrations of perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), were measured using solid-phase extraction coupled to High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Turbo Ion Spray ionization-tandem Mass Spectrometry. LFHI was defined as a pure-tone average (PTA) of thresholds across 0.5-1-2 kHz >25 dB; HFHI defined as a PTA across 3-4-6 kHz >25 dB in the worse ear. Survey-weighted logistic regression models were used to compute odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with adjustment for age, age-squared, sex, race/ethnicity, education, poverty-to-income ratio, body mass index, smoking status, exposures to occupational, recreational and firearm noises, and NHANES cycles. Results: There were no significant associations when perfluoroalkyl variables were fitted as a linear (log-transformed) term. However, statistically significant associations of HFHI with PFNA (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.13-2.56) and PFDA (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.00-3.05) were observed when comparing participants with serum concentrations >/=90th vs. <90th percentiles of PFNA (90th percentile = 1.8 ng/mL) and PFDA (90th percentile = 0.5 ng/mL), respectively, in adults aged 20-69 years. No significant associations were observed for other compounds in adults aged 20-69 years and for all compounds in adults >/=70 years. Conclusions: Our study does not provide strong evidence to support the ototoxicity of PFAS exposure. Non-linear threshold dose-response associations between serum concentrations of PFNA and PFDA and HFHI need further investigation. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  • Subjects:
  • Keywords:
  • ISSN:
    0013-9351
  • Document Type:
    Text
  • Funding:
    Grant
  • Genre:
    Journal Article
  • Place as Subject:
  • CIO:
    National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
  • Topic:
    Workplace Safety & Health
  • Location:
    North America
  • Volume:
    187
  • NIOSHTIC Number:
    nn:20061583
  • Citation:
    Environ Res 2020 Aug; 187:109686
  • Contact Point Address:
    Sung Kyun Park, Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, M5541 SPH II, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA
  • Email:
    sungkyun@umich.edu
  • CAS Registry Number:
    Perfluorocarbons (CAS RN 308069-13-8)
  • Federal Fiscal Year:
    2020
  • Performing Organization:
    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Peer Reviewed:
    True
  • Start Date:
    20050701
  • Source Full Name:
    Environmental Research
  • End Date:
    20280630
  • Collection(s):
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:fc8adca96e884eb1c5cf8aba67b262e414f0d971bf70e694590507ca0428e5c007171324c9c7a6e31807b7bea62a5fdaa61e67880af85ba9ef1dd085b6105f00
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 409.54 KB ]
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