What is PFAS? Why does it reduce women's fertility?

As a man-made chemical, PFOA includes PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), PFOA (perfluorooctane sulfonyl compound), PFBA (perfluorobutyric acid) and PFBS (perfluorobutyl sulfonic acid). The earliest PFAS was invented in 1930s, and it is the main component of non-stick waterproof coating.

PFAS can endow products with oil-proof, water-proof, anti-fouling and mud-proof, chemical resistance and high temperature resistance, reduce surface friction and obtain surface activity, so it has been widely used in the past.

Since the 1940s, PFOS has been produced and used in many industries all over the world. PFOS is a common chemical substance in drinking water and common household products, such as non-stick pans, detergents and waterproofing agents, paints, cleaning products, cosmetics, food packaging and fire fighting foams.

Many daily necessities in life contain PFAS.

Such as non-stick pan (coating), household cleaner, cosmetics (foundation and concealer, etc.). ), post-it notes, dustproof and waterproof outdoor sweatshirts, sports shoes.

Carpets, leather, plastics, rubber, dental floss, snowboards and protective clothing for workers in some industries also contain PFAS.

After these things are discarded, the PFAS contained in them may be released into the air, soil and water, enter the environment and exist for a long time. Therefore, landfills and sewage treatment plants are also the main sources of PFAS.

PFAS widely exists in the environment and has important industrial uses. We will inevitably come into contact with PFAS in our daily life. What are the potential health risks?

PFAS is mainly combined with serum albumin, apolipoprotein B and fatty acid binding protein in liver, so it is widely distributed and accumulated in various body fluids, tissues and organs. After 90% PFAS enters the human body through drinking water, diet and skin, it can cause multiple organ toxicity. The existing research shows that PFAS widely exists in soil, water, atmosphere and other environmental media, and organisms can be exposed through contact with these environmental media, spread along the food chain, and accumulate in the body, resulting in certain toxic effects, such as neurotoxicity, endocrine toxicity, immunotoxicity, reproductive development toxicity and carcinogenicity (Fenton SE et al., environmental toxin chem. 2021).

Exposure to PFOS before pregnancy will increase the risk of irregular menstruation in women of childbearing age. PFAS is significantly associated with the increased risk of menorrhagia. PFHxS was negatively correlated with menorrhagia and positively correlated with oligomenorrhea (Zhou et al., EHP, 20 17).

PFAS can destroy human reproductive hormones and is associated with delayed puberty and increased risk of endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. In this study, the researchers analyzed 382 participants in the Singapore Maternal and Child Study of Pregnancy (S-PRESTO) cohort and divided them into four groups according to the plasma PFAS content. Generally speaking, compared with other PFAs, the average concentrations of PFOS and PFOA are the highest, with an average of 2.49ng/ml and 1.76ng/ml respectively.

The results showed that in the four groups of participants, the fertility rate decreased by about 5%- 10% for each layer of PFAS content in plasma. During the one-year follow-up, compared with the participants with the lowest PFAS content in plasma, the probability of pregnancy or delivery of the participants with the highest PFAS content decreased by about 30-40% on average. The correlation between plasma PFAS content and live birth is similar to that of clinical pregnancy.

Some perfluorooctane sulfonic acids, such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), can remain in human body for a long time and have a negative impact on human health. Animal studies have shown that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) can affect reproduction and development, liver and kidney, and immune system. Both chemicals can cause tumors.

Although a small amount of PFOA and PFOS are not fatal, if exposed for a long time, people may suffer from malignant diseases, such as hypercholesterolemia, ulcerative colitis, thyroid diseases, testicular cancer, renal cancer and pregnancy-induced hypertension.