PFAS Exposure and Thyroid Related Health Outcomes in Communities along the Cape Fear River, NC

摘要 (生物医学研究)研究项目1 项目1是拟议的环境和环境研究中心的两个生物医学研究(BMR)项目之一 北卡罗来纳州立大学(北卡罗来纳州立大学)领导的“全氟辛烷磺酸对健康的影响”。全氟烷基和多氟烷基 物质(PFAS)是北卡罗来纳州和美国各地常见的饮用水污染物。鲜为人知 关于这些化学物质在体内停留多长时间，或者对人类健康有什么影响。这些化学物质有 在北卡罗来纳州恐惧角沿岸社区的饮用水中检测到。使用三个 ，我们将评估全氟辛烷磺酸暴露和对甲状腺健康的影响 饮用水受到全氟辛烷磺酸污染的人。甲状腺激素的紊乱以及 代谢结果，如肥胖，在其他人群中与PFAS有关。三位一体 社区在饮用水中接触到不同类型的全氟辛烷磺酸。匹兹伯勒，位于山脚下 由于以下原因，开普福里河流域上游地区的一条河流暴露于历史上使用的全氟化肥 上游使用灭火泡沫、废水排放和生物固体的土地应用。费耶特维尔 私人水井社区位于一家氟化工厂附近，该工厂将全氟甲烷排放到空气和水中(开普敦 据信，他们的水井因空运而受到污染。威尔明顿，在 恐惧角河口和化工厂下游，暴露在历史上使用的 全氟辛烷磺酸(如全氟辛烷酸、全氟辛烷磺酸)以及一些新发现的全氟辛烷磺酸(如GenX、Nafion副产品2)。至 研究这些不同的社区，我们计划在该地区招募1200人(300人来自匹兹堡，200人来自 费耶特维尔私人水井社区，以及来自威尔明顿的700人)，以评估全氟辛烷磺酸水平如何变化 时间，个人特征是否影响体内的PFAS水平和排泄，以及是否 无论是单独还是作为一个群体，全氟辛烷磺酸都会影响甲状腺的结果。我们计划包括6岁和6岁以下的个人 自2016年7月以来一直生活在该地区的人。我们将邀请参与者在第一年和第三年前往诊所就诊 采集血液和尿液样本进行全氟化验和临床分析，发放问卷以获取信息 关于用水历史、人口统计特征以及医疗和健康结果。与我们的 作为社区合作伙伴，我们将定期报告个人和社区层面的结果。我们会有 每个社区的社区科学咨询委员会为研究提供投入，并确保研究 调查人员对社区关注的问题了如指掌。我们预计在每一种情况下都会发现全氟辛烷磺酸混合物 社区；我们将使用统计方法，使我们能够评估个别的PFAS，同时考虑到 出现了复杂的混合物。这项研究，由于其全氟辛烷磺酸和种族多样性样本的复杂组合，将提供 对北卡罗来纳州和世界各地全氟辛烷磺酸对人类健康影响的关键见解。

ABSTRACT (Biomedical Research) Research Project 1 Project 1 is one of two Biomedical Research (BMR) Projects for the proposed “Center for Environmental and Health Effects of PFAS” being led by North Carolina State University (NC State). Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are common drinking water contaminants in NC and around the United States. Little is known about how long these chemicals stay in the body or what the human health impacts are. These chemicals have been detected in the drinking water of communities living along the Cape Fear River in NC. Working with three community groups along the Cape Fear River, we will evaluate PFAS exposure and thyroid health effects to people whose drinking water has been contaminated with PFAS. Disruption of thyroid hormones as well as metabolic outcomes such as obesity have been associated with PFAS in other populations. The three communities have exposure to different types of PFAS in their drinking water. Pittsboro, located on the Haw River in the upper region of the Cape Fear River basin, is exposed to historically used PFAS as a result of upstream use of firefighting foam, wastewater discharges, and land application of biosolids. The Fayetteville private well community is located near a fluorochemical plant that discharged PFAS to both air and water (Cape Fear River) since 1980; their wells are believed to be contaminated as a result of air transport. Wilmington, at the mouth of the Cape Fear River and downstream of the chemical plant, is exposed to both historically used PFAS (e.g., PFOA, PFOS) as well as a number of newly identified PFAS (e.g., GenX, Nafion byproduct 2). To study these diverse communities, we plan to recruit 1,200 individuals in the region (300 from Pittsboro, 200 from the Fayetteville private well community, and 700 from Wilmington) to evaluate how PFAS levels change over time, whether personal characteristics influence PFAS level as well as excretion from the body, and whether PFAS, either individually or as a group, influence thyroid outcomes. We plan to include individuals ages 6 and over who have lived in the region since July 2016. We will invite participants to clinic visits in Years 1 and 3 to collect blood and urine samples for PFAS and clinical analyses, administer questionnaires to obtain information on water use history, demographic characteristics, and medical and health outcomes. Working with our community partners, we will report back individual and community-level results on a regular basis. We will have Community Science Advisory Boards in each community to provide input to the study and ensure that the study investigators are well informed about community concerns. We anticipate finding PFAS mixtures in each community; we will use statistical approaches that allow us to evaluate individual PFAS while taking into account the complex mixture present. This study, with its complex mix of PFAS and racially diverse sample, will provide key insights to the human health implications of PFAS both in NC and around the world.