ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Mortality for COVID-19: A Spatial Ecological Analysis in the Veneto Region (Italy).
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Analysis and fate of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the global aquatic environment: perspectives and combined risks with microplastics.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 2026Review
- SARS-CoV-2 Anti-Spike IgG Subclass Titres in a Population with Prior Exposure to Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA).Toxics · 2026Article
- PFOA induced metabolic and immune perturbations in a SARS-2 infection model.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): History, Current Concerns, and Future Outlook.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- High-dimensional mediation analysis to elucidate the role of metabolites in the association between PFAS exposure and reduced SARS-CoV-2 IgG in pregnancy.The Science of the total environment · 2025Article
- County-level associations between drinking water PFAS contamination and COVID-19 mortality in the United States.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2025Article
- Decoding PFAS immunotoxicity: a NAMs-based comparison of short vs. long chains.Frontiers in toxicology · 2025Article
- Environmental pollutant risk factors for worse COVID-19 related clinical outcomes in predominately hispanic and latino populations.Environmental research · 2024Article
- Emerging contaminants in food matrices: An overview of the occurrence, pathways, impacts and detection techniques of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.Toxicology reports · 2024Review
- Occurrence of COVID-19 and serumGlobal epidemiology · 2024Article
- Identifying the plasma metabolome responsible for mediating immune cell action in severe COVID-19: a Mendelian randomization investigation.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
- Serum per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance concentrations and longitudinal change in post-infection and post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.Environmental research · 2023Article
- Immune response to COVID-19 vaccination in a population with a history of elevated exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through drinking water.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2023Article
- Article
- 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
- Research Progress of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Edible Oil-A Review.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Cross-sectional associations of maternal PFAS exposure on SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody levels during pregnancy.Environmental research · 2023Article
- Exposure to a mixture of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances modulates pulmonary expression of ACE2 and circulating hormones and cytokines.Toxicology and applied pharmacology · 2022Article
- Antibody response to COVID-19 vaccines among workers with a wide range of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.Environment international · 2022Article
- Epigenetics at the Intersection of COVID-19 Risk and Environmental Chemical Exposures.Current environmental health reports · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is interest in assessing if per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposures are associated with any increased risk of COVID-19 or its severity, given the evidence of immunosuppression by some PFAS. The objective of this paper is to evaluate at the ecological level if a large area (Red Zone) of the Veneto Region, where residents were exposed for decades to drinking water contaminated by PFAS, showed higher mortality for COVID-19 than the rest of the region.
methodsWe fitted a Bayesian ecological regression model with spatially and not spatially structured random components on COVID-19 mortality at the municipality level (period between 21 February and 15 April 2020). The model included education score, background all-cause mortality (for the years 2015-2019), and an indicator for the Red Zone. The two random components are intended to adjust for potential hidden confounders.
resultsThe COVID-19 crude mortality rate ratio for the Red Zone was 1.55 (90% Confidence Interval 1.25; 1.92). From the Bayesian ecological regression model adjusted for education level and baseline all-cause mortality, the rate ratio for the Red Zone was 1.60 (90% Credibility Interval 0.94; 2.51).
conclusionIn conclusion, we observed a higher mortality risk for COVID-19 in a population heavily exposed to PFAS, which was possibly explained by PFAS immunosuppression, bioaccumulation in lung tissue, or pre-existing disease being related to PFAS.
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