Center for Environmental and Health Effects of PFAS

项目总结/摘要 该项目扩大了由北卡罗来纳州环境和自然资源中心资助的GenX暴露研究， PFAS对健康的影响，以回答与全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）接触有关的紧急问题， 它们对SARS-CoV-2反应的影响。PFAS作为一类与免疫抑制相关，如在人类中所证明的 暴露水平较高的个体对普通疫苗的抗体滴度较低。使用GenX暴露研究， 在对1,000名PFAS暴露者进行的前瞻性研究中，我们计划回答两个问题：1） 该人群中的显性疾病、症状、后遗症和抗体？和2）PFAS暴露是否会改变对 通过抗体检测病毒吗这项研究位于北卡罗来纳州的Cape Fear地区，包括参与者 年龄范围为8-86岁，具有不同的人口统计学和病史。本研究中的PFAS水平 高于国家测量的PFAS值;在该人群中，在血清中测量了新型氟醚 占血清中总PFAS水平的约25%。在这个人群中，我们计划收集两份血样， SARS-CoV-2抗体检测，2020年秋季进行一次，2021年夏季进行一次。此外，我们将管理 在这项为期一年的研究中，在五个时间点进行了一项与COVID 19疾病和症状相关的调查，以了解 队列的持续疾病经历。我们目前预计抗体阳性感染的流行率为10% (June 2020年）;我们预计随着北卡罗来纳州感染率的增加，这一数字还会增加。我们将使用PFAS值 在2020年秋季测量，以评估PFAS暴露和SARS-CoV-2反应在横断面分析中的影响;我们 将使用相同的PFAS措施，以纵向方式评估PFAS暴露对这些结果的影响 在PFAS测量后收集。有1000名参与者，这将是迄今为止最大的研究之一 PFAS暴露和通过抗体测量的免疫应答。鉴于PFAS抑制免疫功能， 可能导致更严重的疾病，因为个人不能产生足够的抗体的病毒，或可能导致较轻的 疾病，因为所谓的“细胞因子风暴”可以通过较差的免疫应答来减轻。我们的研究将提供 调查数据结合抗体数据和储存的标本，进一步探索PFAS如何影响COVID。如果 如果在我们的研究期间疫苗可用并被采用，我们将把重点转移到疫苗反应上。我们计划工作 与我们的社区合作伙伴，包括当地非政府组织和卫生部门分享成果， 研究参与者和社区及时。这一补充了正在进行的研究， 北卡罗来纳州超级基金中心，使我们能够利用正在进行的流行病学研究，以解决这一重要的公众 健康问题。

Project Summary/Abstract This project expands the GenX Exposure Study funded through the NC State Center for Environmental and Health Effects of PFAS to answer urgent questions related to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and their impacts on SARS-CoV-2 response. PFAS as a class are associated with immune suppression as evidenced in humans by lower antibody titers to common vaccines in higher exposed individuals. Using the GenX Exposure Study, a prospective study of 1,000 PFAS exposed individuals, we plan to answer two questions: 1) what is the prevalence of overt disease, symptoms, sequelae, and antibodies in this population? and 2) does PFAS exposure modify response to virus as measured by antibodies? This study, located in the Cape Fear Region of North Carolina, includes participants ranging in age from 8-86 years with diverse demographic and medical histories. PFAS levels in this study are much higher than the national values for PFAS measured; in this population, novel fluoroethers have been measured in serum and represent ~25% of the overall PFAS levels in serum. In this population, we plan to collect two blood samples for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing, once in the fall of 2020 and again in the summer of 2021. Additionally, we will administer a survey related to COVID 19 disease and symptoms at five points in time during this one-year study to capture the ongoing disease experience of the cohort. We currently anticipate a prevalence of antibody positive infection of 10% (June 2020); we expect this to increase as the rates of infection are increasing in North Carolina. We will use PFAS values measured in Fall 2020 to assess the impact of PFAS exposure and SARS-CoV-2 response in cross-sectional analyses; we will use the same PFAS measures to assess PFAS exposures on these outcomes in a longitudinal fashion for data collected following PFAS measurement. With 1000 participants, this will be one of the largest studies to date regarding PFAS exposure and immune response as measured by antibodies. Given that PFAS suppress immune function, exposure may result in worse disease because individuals fail to make sufficient antibodies to the virus, or may result in milder disease since the so-called “cytokine storm” may be mitigated by poorer immune response. Our study will provide the survey data combined with antibody data and stored specimens to further explore how PFAS influence COVID. If a vaccine becomes available and is adopted during our study, we will shift our focus to vaccine response. We plan to work with our community partners both local non-governmental organizations and health departments to share results with study participants and the community in a timely fashion. This supplement complements the ongoing research at the NC State Superfund Center and allows us to leverage an ongoing epidemiological study to address this important public health issue.