ArticlePloS one2018
Rubella immunity and serum perfluoroalkyl substances: Sex and analytic strategy.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations of prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and childhood vaccine-induced immunity.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2026Article
- Associations of serum PFAS with COVID-19 antibody levels among fully vaccinated adults.Environmental research · 2026Article
- Associations of mid-childhood per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and early childhood metals with mid-childhood antibody titers.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2026Article
- The importance of considering variability in re-expression of effect estimates for use in meta-analyses.BMC medical research methodology · 2025Article
- Decoding PFAS immunotoxicity: a NAMs-based comparison of short vs. long chains.Frontiers in toxicology · 2025Article
- Review
- Re-expressing coefficients from regression models for inclusion in a meta-analysis.BMC medical research methodology · 2024Article
- Serum per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance concentrations and longitudinal change in post-infection and post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.Environmental research · 2023Article
- Invited Perspective: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Impaired Antibody Response to Vaccination-Who Is Affected?Environmental health perspectives · 2023Article
- High Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Antibody Responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine-an Observational Study in Adults from Ronneby, Sweden.Environmental health perspectives · 2023Observational
- Red Blood Cell Folate Modifies the Association between Serum Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Antibody Concentrations in U.S. Adolescents.Environmental science & technology · 2023Article
- Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure in relation to the kidneys: A review of current available literature.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Review
- Antibody response to COVID-19 vaccines among workers with a wide range of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.Environment international · 2022Article
- Immunomodulation and exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: an overview of the current evidence from animal and human studies.Archives of toxicology · 2022Review
- Concentrations of tetanus and diphtheria antibodies in vaccinated Greenlandic children aged 7-12 years exposed to marine pollutants, a cross sectional study.Environmental research · 2022Article
- Serum vaccine antibody concentrations in adults exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: A birth cohort in the Faroe Islands.Journal of immunotoxicology · 2021Article
- Review
- Pollution, Inflammation, and Vaccines: A Complex Crosstalk.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Associations of exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances individually and in mixtures with persistent infections: Recent findings from NHANES 1999-2016.Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) · 2021Article
- Serum Perfluoroalkyl Substances, Vaccine Responses, and Morbidity in a Cohort of Guinea-Bissau Children.Environmental health perspectives · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPerfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been associated with decreased immunity to childhood tetanus and diphtheria immunizations. If these vaccinations are vulnerable to influence from PFASs, questions arise about associations with other common inoculations.
objectiveTo examine whether serum PFASs were associated with reduced immunity to rubella immunization, and whether interactions with sex or ethnicity warranted analytic stratification. Usually, toxicology analyses are calculated controlling for race and sex. However, sex differences in immune function have been reported and a reduction of immunity to rubella in women could pose risks such miscarriage.
methodsWe analyzed a nationally representative sample of individuals ≥ 12 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for years 1999-2000 and 2003-2004 for whom PFAS measures were available. Our analytic strategy was to start with separate analyses for youth and adults controlling for several covariates including ethnicity and sex, as well as the interaction of these terms with PFASs. If there was a main effect of PFASs and an interaction term, we would stratify analyses of effect size. The outcome variable was Rubella IgG titers by quartile of perfluoroalkyl substances.
resultsAfter exclusion for missing data, the analyzed sample contained 581 adult women, 621 adult men, and 1012 youth. There was no significant effect of PFASs on immunity in youths but a significant effect of both PFOA and PFOS in adults, as well as a significant interaction of PFOA x sex and a borderline significant interaction of PFOS x sex. When effect size analyses were stratified by sex, a significant association between rubella titres and PFOA was found in men but not women and PFOS was not significant in either sex.
conclusionsThese results support our earlier studies showing sex specific responses to PFASs and indicate the importance of thinking carefully about analytic strategies in population based toxicology research.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.