Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34454526›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health : a global access science source2021

Associations between polyfluoroalkyl substance and organophosphate flame retardant exposures and telomere length in a cohort of women firefighters and office workers in San Francisco.

Cassidy Clarity, Jessica Trowbridge, Roy Gerona, Katherine Ona, Michael McMaster, Vincent Bessonneau, Ruthann Rudel, Heather Buren, Rachel Morello-Frosch

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health : a global access science source, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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

15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

Cassidy ClarityDepartment of Environmental Science, Policy and Management University of California, 130 Mulford Hall, 94720, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2029-3253
Jessica TrowbridgeDepartment of Environmental Science, Policy and Management University of California, 130 Mulford Hall, 94720, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Roy GeronaDepartment of Obstetrics, Clinical Toxicology and Environmental Biomonitoring Lab, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Katherine OnaDepartment of Cell and Tissue Biology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Michael McMasterDepartment of Cell and Tissue Biology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Vincent BessonneauSilent Spring Institute, Newton, MA, USA.
Ruthann RudelSilent Spring Institute, Newton, MA, USA.
Heather BurenUnited Fire Service Women, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Rachel Morello-FroschDepartment of Environmental Science, Policy and Management University of California, 130 Mulford Hall, 94720, Berkeley, CA, USA. rmf@berkeley.edu.
University of California, San Francisco · USUniversity of California, Berkeley · USBerkeley Public Health Division · USInserm · FRSilent Spring Institute · USUnited Fire Service Women · US

Funding

Targeted Research Training CoreT42OH008429 · OH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI HARRIS ADAMSON, CARISA · 2005 to 2024
$30.0M
Transdisciplinary Approach to Rapidly Identify Reproductive Toxics in Pregnant Women and NewbornsR01ES027051 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI Dimitri Abrahamsson, Tracey J. Woodruff · 2016 to 2026
$6.6M
NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES027051NIOSH CDC HHS T42 OH008429
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEnvironmental chemical exposures can affect telomere length, which in turn has been associated with adverse health outcomes including cancer. Firefighters are occupationally exposed to many hazardous chemicals and have higher rates of certain cancers. As a potential biomarker of effect, we assessed associations between chemical exposures and telomere length in women firefighters and office workers from San Francisco, CA.

methodsWe measured serum concentrations of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), urinary metabolites of flame retardants, including organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), and telomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes in women firefighters (N = 84) and office workers (N = 79) who participated in the 2014-15 Women Workers Biomonitoring Collaborative. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess associations between chemical exposures and telomere length.

resultsRegression results revealed significant positive associations between perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and telomere length and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and telomere length among the whole cohort. Models stratified by occupation showed stronger and more significant associations among firefighters as compared to office workers. Among firefighters in models adjusted for age, we found positive associations between telomere length and log-transformed PFOA (β (95%CI) = 0.57(0.12, 1.02)), PFOS (0.44 (0.05, 0.83)), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) (0.43 (0.02, 0.84)). Modeling PFAS as categories of exposure showed significant associations between perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and telomere length among firefighters. Significant associations between OPFR metabolites and telomere length were seen for bis (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BDCPP) and telomere length among office workers (0.21(0.03, 0.40)) and bis (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (BCEP) and telomere length among firefighters (- 0.14(- 0.28, - 0.01)). For OPFRs, the difference in the direction of effect by occupational group may be due to the disparate detection frequencies and concentrations of exposure between the two groups and/or potential unmeasured confounding.

conclusionOur findings suggest positive associations between PFAS and telomere length in women workers, with larger effects seen among firefighters as compared to office workers. The OPFR metabolites BDCPP and BCEP are also associated with telomere length in firefighters and office workers. Associations between chemical exposures and telomere length reported here and by others suggest mechanisms by which these chemicals may affect carcinogenesis and other adverse health outcomes.

Indexed as

FirefightersTelomereAdultBiological MonitoringCohort StudiesFatty AcidsFemaleFlame RetardantsFluorocarbonsHumansLeukocytesMiddle AgedOccupational ExposureOrganophosphatesSan FranciscoSulfonic AcidsFatty AcidsFlame RetardantsFluorocarbonsOrganophosphatesSulfonic AcidsFirefightersOrganophosphate flame retardantsPolyfluoroalkyl substancesTelomeres

Identifiers

PMID34454526
PMCPMC8403436
OpenAlexW3198472430

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.