Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

  • Volume 35
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  • Pages.5.1-5.14
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  • 2023
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  • 1225-3618(pISSN)
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  • 2052-4374(eISSN)
The Korean Society of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (대한직업환경의학회)
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The association of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and kidney function in Korean adolescents using data from Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycle 4 (2018-2020): a cross-sectional study

  • Jisuk Yun (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital) ;
  • Eun-Chul Jang (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital) ;
  • Soon-Chan Kwon (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital) ;
  • Young-Sun Min (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital) ;
  • Yong-Jin Lee (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital)
  • Received : 2022.11.28
  • Accepted : 2023.02.09
  • Published : 2023.12.31
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Abstract

Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals widely used in various products in everyday life. Due to its unique strong binding force, the half-life of PFAS is very long, so bioaccumulation and toxicity to the human body are long-standing concerns. In particular, effects on kidney function have recently emerged and there are no studies on the effect of PFAS on kidney function through epidemiological investigations in Korea. From 2018 to 2020, the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycle 4, conducted an epidemiological investigation on the blood concentration of PFAS for the first time in Korea. Based on this data, the relationship between PFAS blood concentration and kidney function was analyzed for adolescents. Methods: We investigated 5 types of PFAS and their total blood concentration in 811 middle and high school students, living in Korea and included in KoNEHS cycle 4, and tried to find changes in kidney function in relation to PFAS concentration. After dividing the concentration of each of the 5 PFAS and the total concentration into quartiles, multivariable linear regression was performed to assess the correlation with kidney function. The bedside Schwartz equation was used as an indicator of kidney function. Results: As a result of multivariable linear regression, when observing a change in kidney function according to the increase in the concentration of each of the 5 PFAS and their total, a significant decrease in kidney function was confirmed in some or all quartiles. Conclusions: In this cross-sectional study of Korean adolescents based on KoNEHS data, a negative correlation between serum PFAS concentration and kidney function was found. A well-designed longitudinal study and continuous follow-up are necessary.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

Thanks to the National Institute of Environmental Research for willingly providing data. To many people, including Lee and reviewers, thanks them for their helpful advice. And above all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my wife for her encouragement and advice.

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