A new thesis by Karolinska Institutet student Tessa Schillemans has found that exposure persistent environmental pollutants did not increase biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk – rather, exposure reduced them, raising further questions on their complex interactions with the environment and within the human body.
What is the thesis about?
The thesis is about a group of environmental pollutants called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also called “forever-chemicals”. Since we all are exposed and their chemical structure resembles that of fatty acids, we wanted to investigate whether exposure to PFAS associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Additionally, we also explored if we could gain insight in potential underlying molecular pathways by linking PFAS exposure to biological molecules in the blood.
Can you tell us about some interesting results?
We found no evidence that PFAS was linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease in the general population. If anything, rather the opposite – which also deserves careful consideration. We did observe associations with higher cholesterol, lower triglycerides and with lipid metabolism intermediates, which all point towards potential perturbations in lipid metabolism.
What further research is needed in the area?
It is essential to fully understand any adverse consequences that PFAS may have, since they are omnipresent and persistent. Thus, epidemiological studies involving other outcomes and vulnerable subgroups (such as pregnant women and children) should also be performed, as disturbances in lipid metabolism could impact other physiological processes. For a deeper mechanistic understanding, integration of data from different biological systems (genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome) in human and experimental settings would be optimal. Additionally, since humans are exposed to many different chemicals simultaneously and these could interact with each other, there is a need for studies that investigate multiple exposures at the same time (exposome studies).
Source: Karolinska Institutet
