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Emerging and Legacy Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Breastfed Chinese Infants: Renal Clearance, Body Burden, and

Jingzhi Yao1,2, Zhaomin Dong3, Lulin Jiang1

  • 1State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.

Environmental Health Perspectives
|March 2, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Emerging perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are prevalent in Chinese human milk, posing potential health risks to infants due to high estimated daily intakes and long half-lives. Further research is needed to understand these risks.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Toxicology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Human breast milk is a significant exposure pathway for perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in infants.
  • Understanding PFAS occurrence in human milk and infant toxicokinetics is crucial for assessing associated health risks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine levels of emerging and legacy PFAS in human milk and infant urine from China.
  • To estimate renal clearance and predict infant serum PFAS levels.
  • To evaluate potential health risks associated with infant exposure to PFAS.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of nine emerging and 13 legacy PFAS in 1,151 human milk samples and 80 paired infant cord blood and urine samples from China.
  • Quantification using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.
  • Estimation of renal clearance rates and prediction of infant serum PFAS concentrations using pharmacokinetic modeling.

Main Results:

  • All nine emerging PFAS were detected in human milk, with 6:2 Cl-PFESA, PFMOAA, and PFO5DoDA exceeding 70% detection rates.
  • Estimated daily intake (EDI) of PFOA and PFOS exceeded U.S. EPA reference doses in a significant proportion of infants.
  • Emerging PFAS, particularly 6:2 Cl-PFESA, exhibited long estimated half-lives in infants, indicating prolonged exposure.

Conclusions:

  • Emerging PFAS are widespread in human milk in China.
  • High EDIs and extended half-lives of emerging PFAS suggest potential postnatal health risks for newborns.
  • The study highlights the need for monitoring and risk assessment of emerging PFAS in vulnerable populations.
Abstract

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