School of Management, Shanxi Medical University, South Xinjian Road, Taiyuan, China.
Comprehensive Service Center of Shanxi Medical and Health Institutions (Shanxi Province Blood Center), Changfeng Street, Taiyuan, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Apr 10;920:170761. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170761. Epub 2024 Feb 8.
This study aimed to measure the exposure of the elderly to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and explore their effects on thyroid hormone levels. A cross-sectional study of plasma samples from 746 elderly people (aged >60 years) from Taiyuan, China was conducted. Fourteen PFASs were determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and five thyroid function indicators, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), free T4 (FT4), and free T3 (FT3), using an enzyme-linked immunoassay. Descriptive analysis was used to investigate PFC exposure and the toxic equivalent quantity (TEQ) was used to calculate the transthyretin (TTR)-disrupting toxicity of combined exposure to PFAS. Linear additive and multiple linear regression models were used to explore the relationship between PFAS and hormones, using PFC concentration as quartiles and continuous variables. Among the PFAS identified, 12 PFASs had detection rates >80 %, with perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) having the highest concentrations. Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), PFOS, and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) were negatively correlated with TSH levels and each interquartile range (IQR) concentration increase caused a reduction in TSH levels by 2.14 %, 1.78 %, and 3.04 %, respectively. Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrA) and perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPA) were positively correlated with T4 and T3 levels, respectively, and levels increased by 4.52 % (T4) and 1.14 % (T3) with IQR concentration increase. Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) was negatively correlated with FT4 levels, which decreased by 1.89 % with IQR concentration increase. A negative correlation was found between the combined exposure indices of TEQ and TSH levels; IQR increase in TEQ decreased the TSH concentration by 1.91 %. In conclusion, exposure to PFAS was common in the elderly population and was associated with decreased TSH and FT4 levels and increased T4 and T3 levels. These results indicated that PFASs may cause thyroid-disrupting effects in the elderly population.
本研究旨在测量老年人接触全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）的情况，并探讨其对甲状腺激素水平的影响。我们对来自中国太原的 746 名老年人（年龄＞60 岁）的血浆样本进行了横断面研究。使用液相色谱-串联质谱法测定了 14 种 PFAS，使用酶联免疫吸附法测定了甲状腺刺激激素（TSH）、甲状腺素（T4）、三碘甲状腺原氨酸（T3）、游离 T4（FT4）和游离 T3（FT3）等 5 种甲状腺功能指标。采用描述性分析方法研究 PFC 暴露情况，并用毒性当量（TEQ）计算 PFAS 联合暴露对转甲状腺素（TTR）的破坏毒性。采用线性加性和多元线性回归模型，以 PFC 浓度为四分位数和连续变量，探讨 PFAS 与激素之间的关系。在所鉴定的 PFAS 中，有 12 种 PFAS 的检出率＞80％，其中全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）和全氟辛酸（PFOA）的浓度最高。全氟癸酸（PFDA）、PFOS 和全氟壬酸（PFNA）与 TSH 水平呈负相关，每增加一个四分位距（IQR）浓度，TSH 水平分别降低 2.14％、1.78％和 3.04％。全氟十三酸（PFTrA）和全氟戊酸（PFPA）分别与 T4 和 T3 水平呈正相关，IQR 浓度增加分别使 T4 和 T3 水平升高 4.52％和 1.14％。全氟丁烷磺酸（PFBA）与 FT4 水平呈负相关，IQR 浓度增加使 FT4 水平降低 1.89％。TEQ 与 TSH 水平的联合暴露指数呈负相关；TEQ 的 IQR 增加使 TSH 浓度降低 1.91％。综上所述，老年人普遍接触 PFAS，与 TSH 和 FT4 水平降低以及 T4 和 T3 水平升高有关。这些结果表明，PFAS 可能对老年人群造成甲状腺破坏作用。
