Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Pubertal Maturation in Young Girls

Susan M. Pinney1, Frank M. Biro2,3, Lusine Yaghjyan1, Antonia Calafat4, Kayoko Kato4, Paul Succop1, M. Kathryn Brown1, Ann Hernick1, Robert Bornschein1, 1University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Dept. of Environmental Health, Cincinnati, OH, USA; 2University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Dept. of Pediatrics, Cincinnati, OH, USA; 3Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; 4Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Background: Polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) and their salts, perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate, have been reported to change mammary gland structure and function in laboratory animals.

Objective: To determine the relationship between serum PFOA concentration and timing of pubertal maturation in young girls.

Methods: Within the NIH Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers (BCERC), we conducted a study of multiple environmental biomarkers in young girls (age 6-7 years at entry), including PFCs. Participants for the study were recruited from area schools in greater Cincinnati, and through members of the Breast Cancer Registry of Greater Cincinnati. Pubertal staging was by conducted by clinicians or trained research staff. Girls have been staged for pubertal maturation every six months, for as long as four years. Blood was collected using a standard protocol and materials provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and analyzed for the PFCs using online solid phase extraction-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Of the 379 girls in the study, at the time of these statistical analyses we had PFC measures on 266, and of that group, 81 had reached Stage 2 or greater of breast development and 38 had reached Stage 2 of pubic hair appearance. We examined the relationship between PFOA serum concentration, measured at the beginning of the study, with the age at which the girl reached Stage 2 of pubertal maturation. Age, race and BMI percentile were included as covariates in all models. PFOA serum concentration was modeled as both categorical and log-transformed continuous. We also examined the relationship between PFOA serum concentration and BMI percentile, and with serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels.

Results: Detectable serum levels of PFOA were found in all but one of the 266 serum samples. The median was 10.24 ng/ml (range <LOD 0.01 to 55.9 ng/ml), somewhat higher than the median for children 12-19 years age in the NHANES 2003-2004 population (3.9 ng/ml). Only 58.3% of our study participants had serum concentration values below the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) population 95th percentile value (8.6 ng/ml), and 55 girls (20,7%) had values >11.3 ng/ml. We will present our findings of studies of the relationship between PFOA serum concentration and pubertal maturation, BMI percentile and serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels.

Support for this project provided by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, to the University of Cincinnati/Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Breast Cancer & the Environment Research Center (U01 ES12770), and Center for Environmental Genetics (P30-ES06096).

The findings and conclusions in this presentation have not been formally disseminated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy.