Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33382826›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

Severity of COVID-19 at elevated exposure to perfluorinated alkylates.

Philippe Grandjean, Clara Amalie Gade Timmermann, Marie Kruse, Flemming Nielsen, Pernille Just Vinholt, Lasse Boding, Carsten Heilmann, Kåre Mølbak

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
67citing papers in PubMed
9.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

67 citing papers in PubMed, 121 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Occurrence of COVID-19 and serumGlobal epidemiology · 2024
    Article

7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Philippe GrandjeanThe Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-4046-9658
Clara Amalie Gade TimmermannThe Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Marie KruseThe Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Flemming NielsenThe Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Pernille Just VinholtThe Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
Lasse BodingThe Department of Epidemiology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Carsten HeilmannPediatric Clinic, Rigshospitalet - National University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Kåre MølbakThe Department of Epidemiology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
University of Southern Denmark · DKStatens Serum Institut · DKHarvard University · USOdense University Hospital · DKRigshospitalet · DK

Funding

Sources, Transport, Exposure & Effects of PFAS (STEEP) Center - RENEWALP42ES027706 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND · PI Harrison Dekker · 2017 to 2026
$18.9M
NIEHS NIH HHS ES027706NIEHS NIH HHS P42 ES027706
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) seems to be aggravated by air pollution, and some industrial chemicals, such as the perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFASs), are immunotoxic and may contribute to an association with disease severity.

methodsFrom Danish biobanks, we obtained plasma samples from 323 subjects aged 30-70 years with known SARS-CoV-2 infection. The PFAS concentrations measured at the background exposures included five PFASs known to be immunotoxic. Register data was obtained to classify disease status, other health information, and demographic variables. We used ordered logistic regression analyses to determine associations between PFAS concentrations and disease outcome.

resultsPlasma-PFAS concentrations were higher in males, in subjects with Western European background, and tended to increase with age, but were not associated with the presence of chronic disease. Of the study population, 108 (33%) had not been hospitalized, and of those hospitalized, 53 (16%) had been in intensive care or were deceased. Among the five PFASs considered, perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) showed an unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of 2.19 (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.39-3.46) for increasing severities of the disease. Among those hospitalized, the fully adjusted OR for getting into intensive care or expiring was 5.18 (1.29, 20.72) when based on plasma samples obtained at the time of diagnosis or up to one week before.

conclusionsMeasures of individual exposures to immunotoxic PFASs included short-chain PFBA known to accumulate in the lungs. Elevated plasma-PFBA concentrations were associated with an increased risk of a more severe course of COVID-19. Given the low background exposure levels in this study, the role of exposure to PFASs in COVID-19 needs to be ascertained in populations with elevated exposures.

Indexed as

Biological Specimen BanksCOVID-19Environmental PollutantsFluorocarbonsRegistriesSARS-CoV-2Severity of Illness IndexAdultAgedEnvironmental ExposureFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedEnvironmental PollutantsFluorocarbonsperfluorobutyric acid

Identifiers

PMID33382826
PMCPMC7774856
OpenAlexW3114911023

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.