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是拟议中的“环境和生物医学中心”的两个生物医学研究（BMR）项目之一。 PFAS的健康影响”由北卡罗来纳州州立大学（NC State）领导。全氟和聚氟烷基 PFAS是NC和美国各地常见的饮用水污染物。知之甚少 这些化学物质在人体内停留的时间或对人类健康的影响。这些化学品 在北卡罗来纳州恐怖角河沿着社区的饮用水中发现了这种物质。与三个 沿着恐怖角河的社区团体，我们将评估PFAS暴露和甲状腺健康的影响， 饮用水被PFAS污染的人群。甲状腺激素紊乱以及 在其他人群中，代谢结果如肥胖与PFAS相关。三 社区在饮用水中暴露于不同类型的PFAS。位于Hawk的Kamporo Cape Fear河流域上游地区的河流，由于以下原因而暴露于历史上使用的PFAS 上游使用消防泡沫、废水排放和生物固体的土地应用。费耶特维尔 一个私人水井社区位于一个向空气和水中排放PFAS的氟化工厂附近（开普敦 自1980年以来，他们的威尔斯井被认为是由于空运而受到污染。威尔明顿，在 恐怖角河的河口和化工厂的下游，暴露在历史上使用的 PFAS（例如，PFOA、PFOS）以及许多新发现的PFAS（例如，GenX，Nafion副产物2）。到 为了研究这些不同的社区，我们计划在该地区招募1,200人（300人来自Biboro，200人来自 费耶特维尔私人水井社区，700人来自威尔明顿），以评估PFAS水平如何变化， 时间，个人特征是否影响PFAS水平以及从体内排泄，以及是否 PFAS，无论是单独或作为一个群体，影响甲状腺的结果。我们计划包括6岁的人， 自2016年7月以来居住在该地区的人。我们将邀请参与者在第1年和第3年进行诊所访视， 采集血液和尿液样本用于PFAS和临床分析，进行问卷调查以获取信息 用水历史、人口特征以及医疗和健康结果。与我们的 与社区合作伙伴一起，我们将定期报告个人和社区一级的成果。我们会一起 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 调查人员充分了解社区关注的问题。我们预计在每一个地方都能找到PFAS混合物， 社区;我们将使用统计方法，使我们能够评估个人PFAS，同时考虑到 复杂的混合物。这项研究，其复杂的混合PFAS和种族多样化的样本，将提供 关键见解PFAS在NC和世界各地的人类健康影响。

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.