GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A new study from researchers at Michigan State University shows how elevated PFAS exposure doesn’t just cause certain cancers, but also puts people at a higher risk for all infections.
The full study is set to be published in the June edition of the academic journal Environmental Research.
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PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a large group of compounds first developed in the 1940s and incorporated into all sorts of products for waterproofing and heat resistance. Decades later, research showed that PFAS compounds take a long time to break down organically and can build up in the human body, causing serious health problems, including certain cancers. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, there are more than 15,000 known PFAS compounds.
MSU’s study focused on how different PFAS compounds alter immune functions. Previous studies have found that people with higher levels of PFAS in their blood produced fewer antibodies when their immune systems encountered a new virus.
Courtney Carignan is an environmental health researcher at MSU. She is the senior author of the study.
“Antibodies act like tiny soldiers, helping the body recognize and fight off viruses,” Carignan said in a university post.
Fewer “soldiers” means a less effective immune system, meaning elevated PFAS levels don’t just cause certain cancers and other health problems, but also make the body at a higher risk for every other infection.
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Carignan’s team used the COVID-19 pandemic to their advantage, monitoring how people’s immune systems responded to the virus while measuring their PFAS exposures.
“Previous studies in adults have produced mixed results, in part because prior exposures and existing immunity can make responses difficult to isolate,” Carignan said. “The pandemic provided a rare opportunity to observe how the immune system responds to a new virus, allowing us to more clearly detect how PFAS exposure may influence antibody production and helping resolve long-standing uncertainty about its effects in adults.
“Our findings make clear that PFAS exposure can affect immune response in adults in addition to the known effects in children.”
Older adults, men and people who are overweight showed the strongest effect from PFAS contamination.
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