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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Publication Detail

Title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance plasma concentrations and metabolomic markers of type 2 diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program trial.

Authors: Mitro, Susanna D; Liu, Jinxi; Jaacks, Lindsay M; Fleisch, Abby F; Williams, Paige L; Knowler, William C; Laferrère, Blandine; Perng, Wei; Bray, George A; Wallia, Amisha; Hivert, Marie-France; Oken, Emily; James-Todd, Tamarra M; Temprosa, Marinella

Published In Int J Hyg Environ Health, (2021 Mar)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used chemicals, some of which have been linked to type 2 diabetes. We tested whether PFAS concentrations were cross-sectionally associated with metabolites previously shown to predict incident type 2 diabetes using the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a trial of individuals at high risk of type 2 diabetes. METHODS: We evaluated 691 participants enrolled in the DPP with baseline measures of 10 PFAS (including total perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), total perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and Sb-PFOA [branched isomers of PFOA]) and 77 metabolites. We used log2-transformed PFAS concentrations as exposures and standardized metabolite concentrations as outcomes in linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, use of anti-hyperlipidemic or triglyceride-lowering medication, income, years of education, marital status, smoking, and family history of diabetes, with Benjamini-Hochberg linear step-up false discovery rate correction. RESULTS: Sb-PFOA was associated with the largest number of tested metabolites (29 of 77). Each doubling in Sb-PFOA was associated with higher leucine (β = 0.07 [95%CI: 0.02, 0.11] SD) and lower glycine (-0.08 [95%CI: 0.03, -0.13] SD). Each doubling of either total PFOA or n-PFOA was associated with -0.13 [95%CI: 0.04, -0.22] SD lower glycine. PFOA and Sb-PFOA were positively associated with multiple triacylglycerols and diacylglycerols, and total PFOS, total PFOA, and Sb-PFOA were positively associated with phosphatidylethanolamines. CONCLUSIONS: PFAS concentrations are associated with metabolites linked to type 2 diabetes (particularly amino acid, glycerolipid and glycerophospholipid pathways). Further prospective research is needed to test whether these metabolites mediate associations of PFAS and type 2 diabetes.

PubMed ID: 33348273 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Biomarkers; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2*/prevention & control; Environmental Pollutants*; Humans; Metabolomics; Research Design

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