Unipd study shows a correlation between exposure to PFAS and mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease
08.05.2024
Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of tens of thousands of chemical compounds used in many consumer products for their heat- and water-resistant properties, are associated with many adverse health conditions. Among the main effects is carcinogenicity in humans, which deserves to be further clarified. An evident association has been reported between kidney cancer and testicular cancer.
In 2013, a vast area contaminated by PFAS was discovered in the soil and drinking water of three provinces of Veneto, involving at least 30 municipalities and a population of approximately 150,000 inhabitants. Many containment actions have been activated by the Veneto Region, including the application of water purification filters for human consumption, and the launch of the Health Surveillance Plan. In 2020, the Veneto Region entrusted the social enterprise Epidemiologia e Prevenzione (a non-profit third-sector body) with the feasibility of epidemiological investigations on the resident population.
In this context, the research group of the University of Padua coordinated by Annibale Biggeri, professor of the Department of Cardio-thoracic-vascular Sciences and Public Health of the University of Padua - in collaboration with the Emilia-Romagna Cancer Registry, the Service Statistician from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and with the contribution of citizen science from the Mamme NO PFAS group – published in Enviromental Health, the study entitled “All-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality in the population of a large Italian area contaminated by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (1980–2018)” where, for the first time, the data provided formally demonstrate an association between exposure to PFAS and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, also highlighting the correlation between kidney cancer and testicular cancer and PFAS in the Veneto population of the contaminated area.
The Istituto Superiore di Sanità has pre-processed and made available anonymous data from the death certificate archives of the National Institute of Statistics relating to residents of the provinces of Vicenza, Padua, and Verona who died between 1980 and 2018. Analysis of the calendar period and birth cohort was carried out using the total population of the three provinces as a reference. Exposure was defined as being resident in one of the 30 municipalities of the Red area, where the aqueduct supplying drinking water was fed by the contaminated groundwater.
Prof Biggeri explains, “During the 34 years between 1985 (assumed as the beginning date of water contamination) and 2018 (the last year of availability of cause-specific mortality data), in the resident population of the Red area we observed 51,621 deaths vs. 47,731 expected. We found evidence of raised mortality from cardiovascular disease (in particular, heart diseases and ischemic heart diseases) and malignant neoplastic diseases, including kidney cancer and testicular cancer. The trend is growing especially among younger people, where we have found an increase in cancer mortality. Also noteworthy is the fact that a protective effect is found in women of childbearing age, probably due to the transfer of PFAS to their offspring.”
