Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and fish consumption in the Great Lakes Fish Consumer Study (GLFCS)

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are linked to multiple adverse health impacts. A prominent source of exposure is consumption of seafood from contaminated water bodies. Thus, the objective of this study is to assess whether serum PFAS concentrations are associated with self-reported fish meals in frequent and infrequent Great Lakes fish consumers. Participants in the Great Lakes Fish Consumer Study were recruited in the early 1990s from licensed Great Lakes (GL) charter boat captains and persons with little-to-no GL fish consumption who lived in the same geographic areas. In 2004-2005, participants donated biosamples and reported the number of fish meals eaten that were caught from the GLs, an inland lake, or purchased commercially. Archived serum samples were analyzed in 2021 for 12 PFAS. Fish meals were regressed on log-transformed PFAS, adjusting for age, body mass index, sex, and education. Of the 472 participants, median age was 58.0 years and 70% were male. Participants reported eating a median of 10.0 GL sport fish and 15.0 purchased fish meals during the past year. An increase of 5 GL sport fish meals was associated (p < 0.05) with an increase in serum concentrations of seven PFAS: perfluoroundecanoic acid (4.1%), perfluorodecanoic acid (3.8%), n-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (3.7%), perfluorononanoic acid (2.7%), perfluoroheptane sulfonic acid and branched perfluoromethylheptane sulfonic acid isomers (1.5%), and 2-(N-methyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamido) acetic acid (1.1%). GL sport fish and purchased fish consumption were associated with increases in serum concentrations of several PFAS, with larger increases for GL sourced versus commercially purchased fish meals.