Association between polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure and sex steroids in adolescents: The mediating role of serum albumin

Abstract

Background: Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are an emerging class of contaminants with endocrine disrupting hazards. The impact of PFASs exposure on sex steroids remain inconclusive. Methods: This study used data from the 2013–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), including 525 adolescents aged 12–19. We explored the association between serum PFASs and sex steroids using multiple linear regression, weighted quantified sum (WQS) regression, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). Mediation analyses were performed to assess whether serum albumin mediates the effects of PFASs on sex steroids. Results: Single exposure to perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) or n-perfluorooctanoic acid (n-PFOA) was found to be inversely associated with sex hormone binding protein (SHBG) after adjustment for confounders. Results from both the WQS and BKMR models showed that mixed exposure to the five PFASs was negatively associated with SHBG and testosterone (TT) in all adolescents, while only in the WQS model, the mixed exposure to PFASs was negatively correlated with E2 and FAI in boys and negatively correlated with TT and SHBG in girls. Serum albumin was found to possibly mediate 9.7 % of the association between mixed PFAS exposure and TT, and 9.7 % of the association between mixed PFAS exposure and SHBG. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates a negative association between mixed exposure to PFASs and adolescent TT and SHBG levels, and suggests that albumin may merit further study as a potential target for PFAS harm reduction.

Keywords

• Adolescent
• Perfluoroalkyl substances
• Sex steroids
• Serum albumin
• Mediation