Hosted by Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by central obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia, which collectively contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Epidemiological studies suggest that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may contribute to poor cardiometabolic health. We examined associations between exposure to PFAS mixture and cardiometabolic health among Canadian adults using the Canadian Health Measure Survey data (2009-2011, 2016-2019). We included 5 PFAS and examined MetS, cardiometabolic risk score, and their individual components. Using quantile g-computation, our findings suggest that exposure to PFAS mixture (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFDA) may adversely affect glucose metabolism. This findings may help to inform the Government of Canada’s risk management approach for addressing PFAS as a class.
Speaker: Dr. Janice Hu
Janice is an epidemiologist at Health Canada’s National Biomonitoring Section. She is located in Vancouver where she completed her training at Simon Fraser University. Her earlier research experience includes work in mental health and homelessness as well as environmental chemicals and perinatal health. Her current project focuses on examining the associations between exposure to a mixture of PFAS and the cardiometabolic health of adults living in Canada using data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey.