WASHINGTON — Early-life exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may influence how children’s bones develop during adolescence, according to new research published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals found in water, food and everyday products. These “forever chemicals,” many of which persist in the environment and in the human body, may interfere with normal development, including bone growth.
“Adolescence is a key period for building strong bones, and achieving optimal bone mass during this time can reduce lifelong risks of fractures and osteoporosis,” said Jessie P. Buckley, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill, N.C. “Our findings suggest reducing PFAS exposure during key developmental windows could support healthier bones throughout life.”
The authors studied the blood PFAS concentrations of 218 teens from a prospective pregnancy and birth cohort at delivery and ages 3, 8 and 12 years old. They measured bone density at age 12 and found that teens with higher blood perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) levels had lower forearm bone density.
For other PFAS, the links to bone density varied depending on when exposures occurred, suggesting that certain developmental stages may be especially vulnerable. The associations of PFAS levels with lower bone density were stronger among females than males.
“These findings add to growing evidence that PFAS exposure during early life may carry long-term health consequences, underscoring the importance of efforts to reduce contamination in drinking water and consumer products,” Buckley said.
Other study authors are Katherine Marquess of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Md.; Joseph Braun of Brown University in Providence, R.I.; Antonia Calafat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga.; Kim Cecil, Halley Wasserman, Yingying Xu and Kimberly Yolton of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Ohio; Aimin Chen of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn.; Bruce Lanphear of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada; and Jordan Kuiper of The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health in Washington, D.C.
The study received funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances and Adolescent Bone Mineral Density: Assessing Periods of Susceptibility,” was published online.
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Journal of the Endocrine Society