Pre- and post-diagnostic blood profiles of perfluoroalkyl acids in type 2 diabetes mellitus cases and controls

• Published in: Environment international 2020-12, Vol.145, p.106095-106095, Article 106095
• Main Authors: Charles, Dolley, Berg, Vivian, Nøst, Therese H., Huber, Sandra, Sandanger, Torkjel M., Rylander, Charlotta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkanesulfonic Acids; Caprylates; Case-Control Studies; Community medicine, Social medicine: 801; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - diagnosis; Female; Fluorocarbons; Health sciences: 800; Helsefag: 800; Humans; Longitudinal assessment; Medical disciplines: 700; Medisinske Fag: 700; Perfluoroalkyl acids; Perfluoroalkyl substances; Pre- and post-diagnostic associations; Prospective Studies; Repeated measurements; Samfunnsmedisin, sosialmedisin: 801; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; VDP
• ISSN: 0160-4120; 1873-6750; 1873-6750
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106095

•Repeated measures of PFAAs were used to study their association to T2DM.•Our results suggest no increased odds for T2DM with PFAAs exposure.•The PFAAs followed the expected trend in changes in concentrations over time.•T2DM status did not influence the temporal changes in PFAAs concentrations.•Studies with repeated measurements are warranted to confirm these findings. Studies exploring the associations between perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are rather limited and have reported conflicting results. All studies to date, including prospective ones, have relied on a single blood sample to study this association. Similarly, studies investigating how T2DM status may influence the longitudinal changes in PFAA concentrations have not been previously performed. As PFAA concentrations in humans have changed considerably over the last two decades, and as individuals diagnosed with T2DM usually undergo lifestyle changes that could influence these concentrations, a single blood sample may not necessarily reflect the life-time exposure to PFAA concentrations. Hence, repeated measurements from the same individuals will extend our understanding of how PFAAs are associated with T2DM. The present study, therefore, aimed to explore associations between pre- and post-diagnostic PFAA blood profiles and T2DM and assess factors associated with longitudinal changes in PFAAs in T2DM cases and controls. Questionnaire data and blood samples from women participating in the Norwegian Women and Cancer study were used to conduct a nested case-control study among 46 T2DM cases matched to 85 non-diabetic controls. PFAAs were measured in blood samples collected prior to (2001/02) and after (2005/6) T2DM diagnosis. We investigated the association between PFAAs and incident and prevalent T2DM using conditional logistic regression. We assessed the longitudinal changes in PFAA concentrations within and between matched cases and controls using t-tests and linear regression models. We observed no significant associations between pre-diagnostic PFAA concentrations and T2DM incidence. Similar results were observed for the post-diagnostic PFAA concentrations and T2DM prevalence. Decrease over time in PFAA concentrations were observed for PFOA and ∑PFOS concentrations, whereas increase over time were observed for PFNA, PFDA and PFUnDA concentrations. Longitudinal trends in PFAA concentrations among T2DM cases were similar to the changes observed in controls. The st