Per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure is associated with later occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease
By Manasi Agrawal, Vishal Midya, Amith Maroli, Jared Magee, Lauren Petrick, and Jean-Frederic Colombel
CGH
December 27, 2023
DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2023.12.020
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease of the intestinal tract of elusive etiology. Environmental chemical exposures are increasingly acknowledged as a potential IBD risk factor. Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a large class of persistent fluorinated organic chemicals used in industrial applications and consumer products such as paints, food packaging, and non-stick cookware, for over six decades, may be implicated in IBD etiology. Yet, epidemiological evidence has so far been scarce. Exposures to a few legacy PFAS, including perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorodecanoic (PFDA), and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), have been associated with
immunotoxicity and increased risk of other immune-mediated diseases, but data for their potential association with IBD are conflicting. Further, the impact of more recently emerging PFAS chemicals on IBD risk has not been studied.
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