Mette Hyllegaard Madsen , Janne Julie Møller , Niels Erik Ebbehøj , Flemming Nielsen , Marianne Tang Severinsen , Jonas Faartoft Jensen , Søren Rygaard Lenschow , Jakob Hjort Bønløkke
{"title":"PFAS concentrations in the blood of Danish surfers","authors":"Mette Hyllegaard Madsen , Janne Julie Møller , Niels Erik Ebbehøj , Flemming Nielsen , Marianne Tang Severinsen , Jonas Faartoft Jensen , Søren Rygaard Lenschow , Jakob Hjort Bønløkke","doi":"10.1016/j.ijheh.2025.114522","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Background: Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) have been used for decades in countless households and industrial products. Many PFAS do not degrade and are thus ubiquitous in the environment and within organisms. Humans are primarily exposed to PFAS through ingestion and inhalation, and such exposure has been associated with several health effects. Some PFAS accumulate in the top layer of seawater and in seafoam up to 100,000 times the concentration in bulk seawater. No studies have investigated whether exposure to seafoam or aerosols by surfing or other water activities is associated with a higher PFAS burden. This study aimed to measure PFAS concentrations in the blood of 34 Danish surfers and investigate the effect of annual surfing hours on these concentrations.</div><div>Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study of surfers from the West Coast of Denmark was conducted to investigate a possible association between annual surfing hours and serum PFAS concentrations including PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFDA and PFHxS.</div><div>Findings: All 34 surfers had measurable PFAS concentrations in their blood. However, annual surfing hours were not associated with increased PFAS concentrations. Unadjusted subgroup analyses showed statistically significant associations with male sex and consumption of meat from free-ranging animals with higher PFAS concentrations in blood, although these associations might be driven by other factors.</div><div>Interpretation: This study descriptively explored the distribution of PFAS concentrations in different subgroups based on potential risk factors of higher PFAS exposure. Even though no association between surfing and PFAS concentrations in blood was found, several other factors are suspected to be associated with increased concentrations. To prevent exposures that might lead to adverse health effects, further studies are needed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13994,"journal":{"name":"International journal of hygiene and environmental health","volume":"264 ","pages":"Article 114522"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International journal of hygiene and environmental health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438463925000045","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"INFECTIOUS DISEASES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) have been used for decades in countless households and industrial products. Many PFAS do not degrade and are thus ubiquitous in the environment and within organisms. Humans are primarily exposed to PFAS through ingestion and inhalation, and such exposure has been associated with several health effects. Some PFAS accumulate in the top layer of seawater and in seafoam up to 100,000 times the concentration in bulk seawater. No studies have investigated whether exposure to seafoam or aerosols by surfing or other water activities is associated with a higher PFAS burden. This study aimed to measure PFAS concentrations in the blood of 34 Danish surfers and investigate the effect of annual surfing hours on these concentrations.
Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study of surfers from the West Coast of Denmark was conducted to investigate a possible association between annual surfing hours and serum PFAS concentrations including PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFDA and PFHxS.
Findings: All 34 surfers had measurable PFAS concentrations in their blood. However, annual surfing hours were not associated with increased PFAS concentrations. Unadjusted subgroup analyses showed statistically significant associations with male sex and consumption of meat from free-ranging animals with higher PFAS concentrations in blood, although these associations might be driven by other factors.
Interpretation: This study descriptively explored the distribution of PFAS concentrations in different subgroups based on potential risk factors of higher PFAS exposure. Even though no association between surfing and PFAS concentrations in blood was found, several other factors are suspected to be associated with increased concentrations. To prevent exposures that might lead to adverse health effects, further studies are needed.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health serves as a multidisciplinary forum for original reports on exposure assessment and the reactions to and consequences of human exposure to the biological, chemical, and physical environment. Research reports, short communications, reviews, scientific comments, technical notes, and editorials will be peer-reviewed before acceptance for publication. Priority will be given to articles on epidemiological aspects of environmental toxicology, health risk assessments, susceptible (sub) populations, sanitation and clean water, human biomonitoring, environmental medicine, and public health aspects of exposure-related outcomes.