PFAS exposure before birth could put your teen at risk for high blood pressure, study finds
Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN's Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being.
Prenatal exposure to a class of dangerous, widely used chemicals could be linked to your child having high blood pressure as a teen, according to a new study.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS — sometimes called 'forever chemicals' because they don't fully break down in the environment — are a class of about 15,000 human-made chemicals linked to cancers, endocrine-related conditions and developmental problems in children.
New data shows the synthetic compounds could also be linked to a teen's risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, according to the study published Thursday in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers looked at data from 1,094 children over an average of 12 years. The study team compared measurements of eight types of PFAS chemicals in maternal plasma samples 24 to 72 hours after birth and the children's blood pressure from medical records, according to the study.
The kids who were exposed to higher levels of PFAS chemicals in utero were more likely to have higher blood pressure in childhood and adolescence, the research found. The connection was particularly strong in adolescents, male children and Black children, said senior study author Dr. Mingyu Zhang, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
The study is observational, meaning that while it shows associations, it cannot prove that PFAS exposure is the cause of the elevated blood pressure, Zhang said.
While researchers did adjust for other factors that could be at play, there could be other elements driving the connection between PFAS and blood pressure, he added.
That said, the results are strong because this study is one of the largest and most diverse while also using rigorous methods, said Dr. Carmen Marsit, Rollins Distinguished Professor of Research at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta. He was not involved in the research.
The topic is important to investigate because if a child has high blood pressure, they are more likely to also have higher blood pressure later on, Zhang said. And that is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 cause of death in the United States.
The largest effects were shown in adolescents who were exposed to a mixture of different PFAS chemicals during pregnancy compared with those who were not, which implies that there may be a synergistic impact on cardiometabolic health, Marsit said.
'Most children will be exposed to multiple different PFAS chemicals, so this is worrisome,' he said.
The fact that adolescence is the age when prenatal exposure to PFAS is most linked with higher blood pressure suggests that some of the PFAS chemicals could take a long period of time to show their impacts, Marsit said.
A long latency of the effects would mean that people don't just need to worry about reducing exposures, but interventions also need to be developed to prevent the health outcomes in people who were exposed earlier, he added.
Not only are PFAS forever chemicals –– they also are everywhere chemicals.
Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey shows that this class of chemicals can be found in nearly every person in the United States, Marsit said in a previous CNN story.
There are things you can do to reduce your exposure, however, he added.
Major sources of exposure include food, water, and waterproof or stain-resistant items, Marsit said.
Helpful steps include drinking filtered water –– using filters like those listed by the Environmental Working Group –– out of metal or glass containers, he said. Plastics contain PFAS and other toxic chemicals, Marsit said.
A focus on fresh food can also help, as packaging for foods are often coated in PFAS chemicals, he added. And avoid using nonstick cookware, opting instead for metal, cast-iron or ceramic pots and pans, he said.
Dusting, vacuuming, and washing your hands before eating or drinking can also reduce PFAS exposure, Marsit said.
Healthy lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of high blood pressure for children who have been exposed to PFAS, Zhang said.
'These include maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, reducing salt intake, and encouraging physical activity,' he added.
But ultimately, an individual cannot solve PFAS exposure alone, Zhang said.
'We also need policy-level actions to limit and phase out PFAS use in products and industry, and to strengthen monitoring and regulation of PFAS in water systems,' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
17 hours ago
- USA Today
Climate change threatens world food supply. How bad could it be in the U.S.?
It's especially worrisome in the United States, where top crop production could drop by as much as 50% by 2100. The planet's food system faces growing risks from climate change, a new study says. It's especially worrisome in the United States, where top crop production could drop by as much as 50% by 2100. The study, published June 18, assessed six staple crops – maize (corn), soybeans, rice, wheat, cassava and sorghum – and found that only rice might avoid substantial losses from rising temperatures. 'If the climate warms by 3 degrees, that's basically like everyone on the planet giving up breakfast," study co-author Solomon Hsiang of Stanford University said in a statement. Will there still be a Corn Belt? The projected losses for U.S. agriculture are especially steep, according to the study. 'Places in the Midwest that are really well suited for present-day corn and soybean production just get hammered under a high warming future,' said lead study author Andrew Hultgren of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 'You do start to wonder if the Corn Belt is going to be the Corn Belt in the future.' Scientists estimated that for every 1.8-degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature above pre-industrial levels, production will decline by 120 calories per person per day, the equivalent of 4.4% of today's daily consumption. That will push up prices and make it harder for people to access food, Hsiang told CNN. Wheat, soy and corn most affected Wheat and corn will be among the crops most at risk, the study found. The study suggested that under a high-emissions scenario, by the end of the century, maize production could decline by up to 40% in the United States, Eastern China, Central Asia, Southern Africa and the Middle East. Wheat loses could range from 15% to 25% in Europe, Africa and South America and 30% to 40% in China, Russia, the United States and Canada. 'This is basically like sending our agricultural profits overseas," Hsiang said in a statement from Stanford. "We will be sending benefits to producers in Canada, Russia, China. Those are the winners, and we in the U.S. are the losers. The longer we wait to reduce emissions, the more money we lose.' Data center: Hot, hotter, hottest: How much will climate change warm your county? Steepest losses at the extremes The steepest losses occur at the extremes of the agricultural economy, according to a statement from Stanford University. That includes modern breadbaskets that now enjoy some of the world's best growing conditions, such as the United States, and subsistence farming communities that rely on small harvests of cassava. In terms of food production capacity from staple crops, the analysis found yield losses may average 41% in the wealthiest regions and 28% in the lowest-income regions by 2100. In the study, scientists concluded further adaptation and the expansion of cropland may be needed to ensure food security and limit the effects of climate change. A favorable climate, Hsiang said, is a big part of what keeps farmland productive across generations. 'Farmers know how to maintain the soil, invest in infrastructure, repair the barn,' Hsiang said. 'But if you're letting the climate depreciate, the rest of it is a waste. The land you leave to your kids will be good for something, but not for farming.' The study was published in the peer-reviewed British journal Nature.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Outpouring of grief in Gaza as Israel's military campaign intensifies
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says more than 70 people, including multiple children, were killed Thursday by Israeli strikes, with the Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City among the targets. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports on the trauma faced by Palestinians in Gaza, where a 12-year-old boy offered a gripping account of the suffering.
CNN
18 hours ago
- CNN
CNN visits underground hospital in Israel treating patients from Iranian missile attacks
As Iran and Israel trade missile attacks, Israeli hospitals are moving operations underground. CNN's Clarissa Ward visits Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv to see how doctors prep for incoming attacks.
