Exploratory assessment of perfluorinated compounds and human thyroid function

Thyroid hormones play critical roles in human neurodevelopment and adult neurocognitive function. Persistent organohalogen pollutants, such as perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), may interfere with thyroid homeostasis and thus exposures to these compounds might represent risk factors for neurologic and cognitive abnormalities. In this study, serum specimens collected from thirty-one licensed anglers in New York State were analyzed for levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT₄), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA). PFOS and PFOA occurred in the highest concentrations with geometric means of 19.6 ng/mL (95% CI 16.3-23.5) and 1.3 ng/mL (95% CI 1.2-1.5), respectively. In a cross-sectional analysis, no statistically significant associations were detected for PFCs, or their sum, with TSH or FT₄ at α = 0.05. However, post hoc power analyses, though limited, suggested that moderate increases in sample size, to 86 and 129 subjects, might facilitate 80% power to detect statistically significant associations for FT₄ and PFDA (β = 0.09) and PFUnDA (β = 0.08), respectively. The consumption of sportfish may have contributed to PFDA (r = 0.52, P = 0.003) and PFUnDA (r = 0.40, P = 0.025) levels. This preliminary study does not indicate associations between non-occupational PFCs exposures and thyroid function. However, the possibility for weak associations for FT₄ with PFDA and PFUnDA, PFCs measured in low concentrations, is raised. Given the ubiquity of PFCs in the environment and the importance of thyroid function to neurodevelopmental and neurocognitive endpoints, a confirmatory study is warranted.