Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: PFOA Concentration in Serum Collected 1991-2008 and Related Health Effects
EPA Grant Number: R834788Title: PFOA Concentration in Serum Collected 1991-2008 and Related Health Effects
Investigators: Pinney, Susan M. , Biro, Frank M. , Succop, Paul , Herrick, Robert , Bornschein, Robert
Institution: University of Cincinnati , Harvard University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: February 1, 2011 through January 31, 2013 (Extended to January 31, 2015)
Project Amount: $499,980
RFA: Exploring Linkages Between Health Outcomes and Environmental Hazards, Exposures, and Interventions for Public Health Tracking and Risk Management (2009) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Human Health
Objective:
The objective of this research was to measure perfluorinated chemical (PFC) concentrations in archived serum from the established Fernald Community Cohort, with samples obtained during an 18-year period from 1991 to 2008, and test for associations between serum perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) concentration and early biological indicators of disease such as biomarkers of inflammation, elevated hepatic enzymes, and changes in levels of triglycerides, cholesterol and thyroid hormones, using a database of clinical information for that cohort.
We measured PFC concentrations in archived serum from the established Fernald Community Cohort (FCC), with samples obtained during an 18-year period from 1991 to 2008. Eligibility requirements included having at least one address in the FCC database, in 1980 or later, where their public drinking water supply would come from the Ohio River. Based on our previous research with other populations, we were especially interested in persons who lived north of the Ohio River from Cincinnati, or in the Northern Kentucky region. Some members of the cohort who lived within the area served by the Cincinnati Water works, with water coming from either the Ohio River or the Great Miami aquifer, also were selected. In addition to the previously collected information in the Fernald Medical Monitoring Program (FMMP) database, we designed additional questionnaires for this project: 1) a water consumption questionnaire, and 2) a questionnaire to update the residential history to the current time and to collect addresses where the participant may have lived between the addresses given at the time of physical examination or questionnaire data collection as part of the FMMP. A total of 266 questionnaires were returned, and 517 serum samples of those persons were sent to the Environmental Laboratory of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Using the PFOA serum concentrations and the information in the existing FCC database and the newly collected questionnaire data, combined with information about water treatment systems obtained from municipal water department representatives and documents and state utility regulatory agencies, local planning agencies, and state Departments of Natural Resources, we determined the relationship between source of drinking water over calendar time. Using multivariate models, we found significant associations between serum PFOA concentration and the Ohio River and Ohio River Aquifer as municipal water sources, calendar year of sample, and sex; serum PFOA increased with water consumption, but these associations were not significant. Our statistically significant findings indicate that serum PFOA concentration was 0.84 ng/ml higher for each year of drinking water sourced from the Ohio River without granular activated charcoal filtration, 0.15 ng/ml higher for each year of drinking water sourced from the Ohio River Aquifer, 1.29 ng/ml higher for samples obtained in 1991-1993 when compared to those obtained in 1997-2000, and 4.28 ng/ml higher compared to those obtained in 2006-2008.
Conclusions:
Our findings clearly indicate that serum PFOA is elevated in this population, and support our original hypothesis. The range of measured concentrations was quite large, from 1.0 to 91.1 ng/ml, with a median value of 10.9 ng/ml (which is more than twice the median value reported for the US population in 2007-2008. The strong association between the Ohio River and Aquifer as water source and serum PFOA suggests that a major source of exposure was municipal drinking water. We have not yet completed the analyses incorporating number of pregnancies/live births at time of sample and breastfeeding history, but the decreased serum concentrations found in females may be acting as a surrogate for the inverse effects due to these factors. Our finding that the earliest serum samples (from 1991-1993) had the highest PFOA concentrations, when adjusted for all other factors, surprised us, and is counter to our original supposition that serum concentrations measured closer to 2000 would be higher than those measured in 1991-1993. We will be exploring possible factors in future data analyses, and speculate that there may be either another industrial source, or the releases from the plant in West Virginia, or other sources, may be greater than previously reported publically accessible documents.
Future analyses will attempt to identify geographical areas of greatest exposure, and provide information which may help to identify the exposure source and period of exposure. We will continue to examine the relationship between PFOA exposure and white blood cell count and differential, serum triglycerides, cholesterol (total, HDL, and LDL), hepatic enzymes (AST, ALT, CPS, LDH, albumin, bilirubin [direct and total]) and thyroid hormones (T4 and TSH). Previously collected extensive questionnaire data from the FMMP database will be used to explore the relationship between pregnancy and breast feeding and serum PFOA concentrations in exposed women.
Journal Articles on this Report : 2 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 5 publications | 2 publications in selected types | All 2 journal articles |
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Herrick RL, Buckholz J, Biro FM, Calafat AM, Ye X, Xie C, Pinney SM. Polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure in the Mid-Ohio River Valley, 1991-2012. Environmental Pollution 2017;228:50-60. |
R834788 (Final) |
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Rebholz SL, Jones T, Herrick RL, Xie C, Calafat AM, Pinney SM, Woollett LA. Hypercholesterolemia with consumption of PFOA-laced Western diets is dependent on strain and sex of mice. Toxicology Reports 2016;3:46-54. |
R834788 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
epidemiology, PFOA, cytokines, lymphocytes, exposure characterization, residential history, drinking water consumption, lactation, proxy questionnairesRelevant Websites:
Archived Information (Fernald Medical Monitoring Program) Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.