Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41168418›Full record

ArticleJournal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology2026

Associations between PFAS in public water system drinking water and serum among Southern California adults.

Toki Fillman, Scott Coffin, Brandon Ta, Emily Beglarian, Wendy Linck, Hyoung-Gee Baek, Songmei Gao, Sabrina Smith, June-Soo Park, Nerissa Wu and 1 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Toki FillmanCalifornia Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA. toki.fillman@cdph.ca.gov.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-5404-6623
Scott CoffinOffice of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Brandon TaCalifornia State Water Resources Control Board, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Emily BeglarianCalifornia Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA.
Wendy LinckCalifornia State Water Resources Control Board, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Hyoung-Gee BaekCalifornia Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Songmei GaoCalifornia Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Sabrina SmithCalifornia Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA, USA.
June-Soo ParkCalifornia Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Nerissa WuCalifornia Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA.
Kathleen AttfieldCalifornia Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundStudies from areas with high level per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination have reported significant contributions of drinking water to overall exposure but few studies have focused on general populations.

objectiveTo examine the association between PFAS in public water system drinking water and concentrations in serum among a general population of California adults.

methodsThe CARE (California Regional Exposure) biomonitoring study measured PFAS in serum of Southern and Eastern California adults between 2018 and 2020. Participant addresses were geocoded and geographically assigned to public water systems (PWS). Between 2019 and 2022, the California State Water Resources Control Board issued investigative PFAS monitoring orders to potentially impacted PWS, focusing primarily on source wells. PFAS detections above the required reporting limit (4 ng/L for PFAS included in the final analysis) were used to assess associations with serum PFAS levels.

resultsOut of 563 participants in Southern California included in the final analysis, 314 (56%) lived in a PWS service area with at least one PFAS detected in their untreated source water and/or treated drinking water. Serum perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) geometric mean concentrations were 31.9% (95% CI: 11.1-56.6%) higher among participants whose PWS had at least one PFHxS detection compared to those without detectable levels. For participants with post-treatment drinking water data (n = 235), serum PFAS geometric mean concentrations were higher compared to those without detections for all modeled PFAS: PFHxS 79.9% (38.3-133.9%), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) 30.4% (5.5-61.2%), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) 31.2% (0.7-70.9%), and ∑5 PFAS 42.0% (14.5-76.1%). IMPACT: This study examined the association between public water system PFAS detections and serum concentrations among a general population of Southern California adults. We found that PFAS detections in public water systems were associated with higher serum PFAS concentrations. Our findings suggest PFAS contamination in drinking water may be a significant contributor to serum PFAS levels, even among communities without high level contamination from industrial manufacturing. These results support drinking water monitoring initiatives in California to understand PFAS contamination and mitigate exposure.

Indexed as

Drinking WaterFluorocarbonsWater Pollutants, ChemicalAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCaliforniaFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSulfonic AcidsDrinking WaterFluorocarbonsperfluorohexanesulfonic acidSulfonic AcidsWater Pollutants, ChemicalBiomonitoringDrinking waterExposurePFAS

Identifiers

PMID41168418
PMCPMC12960233

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Registered trials

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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.