Warning: Common Synthetic Chemicals Disrupt Key Biological Processes – Linked to a Diverse Array of Diseases

Methane or Ammonium Molecules

Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), are a group of synthetic chemicals that have been widely used in various industries due to their unique properties, such as resistance to heat, oil, and water. However, PFAS have been found to have a persistent and toxic effect on the environment and human health.

Exposure to a mixture of chemicals known as PFAS results in changes in biological processes that are linked to a diverse array of diseases.

Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC have discovered that being exposed to a mixture of synthetic chemicals commonly present in the environment affects multiple crucial biological processes in both children and young adults. These processes include the metabolism of fats and amino acids. The disruption of these biological processes increases the likelihood of various diseases, including developmental disorders, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, and several forms of cancer.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also referred to as “forever chemicals,” are man-made chemicals used in many consumer and industrial products. These substances are slow to break down and accumulate both in the environment and human tissue, hence the nickname.

Although individual PFAS are known to increase the risk of several types of disease, this study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, is the first to evaluate which biological processes are altered by exposure to a combination of multiple PFAS, which is important because most people carry a mixture of the chemicals in their blood.

“Our findings were surprising and have broad implications for policymakers trying to mitigate risk,” said Jesse A. Goodrich, Ph.D., assistant professor of population and public health sciences and lead author of the study. “We found that exposure to a combination of PFAS not only disrupted lipid and amino acid metabolism but also altered thyroid hormone function.”

A first-of-its-kind research project

To understand the effects that the mixture of PFAs has in the body, the team used blood samples collected from 312 adolescents who participated in the Study of Latino Adolescents at Risk and 137 children from the Southern California Children’s Health Study. They found that all the children and adolescents had a mixture of several common PFAS in their blood including PFOS, PFHxS, PFHpS, PFOA, and PFNA. More than 98% of the participants also had PFDA in their blood.

The scientists also measured thousands of naturally occurring chemicals in blood and, using a biostatistical method they developed, they identified how exposure to multiple different PFAS impacted each of these naturally occurring chemicals. This information helped the researchers determine that PFAS exposure altered the way the body metabolized lipids and amino acids as well as the levels of thyroid hormone, an important determinant of metabolic rates.

The researchers focused on children and young adults because they are going through critical stages of development that may make them more susceptible to the negative health effects of PFAS exposure. It is also a time when many serious diseases that manifest in adults begin to take root. The researchers added that these results are consistent with earlier studies that showed exposure to individual PFAS in childhood was associated with dysregulated lipid and fatty acid metabolism, which can increase the risk of metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease later in life.

One finding that stood out, according to Goodrich, was the fact that the PFAS exposure had an effect on thyroid hormone function, which has a critical role in growth and metabolism. Because of this, changes in thyroid hormones play an important role in child development during puberty, which can have important effects on a range of diseases later in life, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

Important public health consideration

Another important finding was the fact that exposure to a mixture of PFAS, rather than a single chemical of this type, drove the disruption of these biological processes. This finding was consistent across the two cohorts, even though they had different levels of PFAS exposure.

Almost all people in the U.S. have detectable levels of several PFAS, which are in a wide variety of products including waterproof clothing and food packaging, in their blood. An estimated 200 million people in the U.S. have drinking water with PFAS levels that are considerably higher than the levels recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2022.

Some manufacturers have phased out the use of individual PFAS, but the authors of this study conclude that this research shows why it may be more important to regulate PFAS as a class of chemicals.

“We are really only beginning to understand the range of effects that these chemicals have on human health,” said Leda Chatzi, MD, Ph.D., professor of population and public health sciences and another of the study’s authors. “While current interventions have focused on phasing out the use of individual PFAS, such as PFOS and PFOA, this research shows why the focus should be on reducing exposure to all PFAS chemicals.”

Reference: “Metabolic Signatures of Youth Exposure to Mixtures of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: A Multi-Cohort Study” by Jesse A. Goodrich, Douglas I. Walker, Jingxuan He, Xiangping Lin, Brittney O. Baumert, Xin Hu, Tanya L. Alderete, Zhanghua Chen, Damaskini Valvi, Zoe C. Fuentes, Sarah Rock, Hongxu Wang, Kiros Berhane, Frank D. Gilliland, Michael I. Goran, Dean P. Jones, David V. Conti and Leda Chatzi, 22 February 2023, Environmental Health Perspectives.
DOI: 10.1289/EHP11372

The study was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

15 Comments on "Warning: Common Synthetic Chemicals Disrupt Key Biological Processes – Linked to a Diverse Array of Diseases"

  1. Fayeza Durrani | April 24, 2023 at 9:56 pm | Reply

    The post should have had mentioned the products containing PFAS clearly so that consumers can begin their journey to safety as soon as and as much as possible.

  2. They are using these chemicals in chemtrails from planes. Killing birds, fish and slowly destroying our soil. This must be stopped.

    • Well if you knew anything about chemistry vs quackery you would know that any fluorocarbon is already too oxidized that it can’t be attacked by oxygen. Which means putting it through jet engines will stall them. Plus the ubiquity of fluorocarbons in the environment can be easily linked to consumer use and producers avoiding environmental regs. All of the pollution can easily be explained by common use vs your religion of “chemtrails”. You literally sound like a 5 year old espousing with certainty that Santa Claus is real and exists. My advice is lose the “chemtrail” delusion and learn some real chemistry and physics before dunning-kreuggering yourself into thinking you have a clue.

  3. Plastics pollution goes up, fluorocarbons go up, transgenderism goes up, autism goes up, little girls get their periods at 8 years old, men have their sperm counts go down by 50%. No correlation at all, they are just “born that way”…. No probelms whatsoever chem industry and big oil. Keep doing what you are doing. PROFIT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE SPECIES!!!!

    • … unless it is one’s intention to “cull the herd” with a multi-pronged attack on a captive population… INSIDIOUS.

    • Juan Sinmiedo | June 18, 2023 at 9:16 am | Reply

      Actually, Martard. The main culprit is plastic-free packaging. We are swapping tried and tested safe PET packaging for PFAS ladder paperboard.

    • Yes, thank you! It takes only common sense to recognize the links between hormone/endocrine disruptors and an array of hormonal issues. I’m so tired of the “there’s no evidence” argument. It’s also very infuriating that in the US, chemicals are innocent until exhaustive efforts are made to prove them guilty long after the damage is done and the environment is fully contaminated.

  4. Nobody needs a smart mouth, arrogant reply. Be nice!

    • Anything synthetic is not naturally occurring, because it resonates at a dissonant frequency ( in other words not a whole number ratio of frequencies that could allow energy) and would therefore cause frequency disturbances just by being near someone. I’d be willing to bet that this study would have the same results on synthetic clothing and bedding or synthetic furniture and vehicles. Anything not harmonious will be destroyed similar to way noise cancelling headphones by operate.

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