SynthesisJournal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology2026
Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and inflammatory bowel disease: review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis 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. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are stable chemicals that are well preserved in the environment and persist in the human body. PFAS have been associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but studies are varied in their findings.
objectiveThe objective of this study was to conduct a review of the literature and meta-analysis evaluating PFAS exposure and IBD.
methodsPubMed, SCOPUS, Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science were searched for original research articles published in English between 1980 and July 2023 and with human subjects. An adapted risk of bias grading chart was created a priori in order to assess the risks of bias relevant to the studies. For each health outcome, the relative risk point estimates and confidence intervals were used in the synthesis of results.
resultsSix studies were identified and assessed for risk of bias. Using random effects meta-analysis for the four studies reporting odds ratios and confidence intervals for serum PFAS concentrations, we found that the average relative increase in ulcerative colitis per 1 ng/mL increase in measured or modeled serum PFOA for these studies is 7% (95% CI: -4.7%, 20.0%). For other PFAS chemicals, there were only three or fewer studies reporting odds ratios for PFAS and IBD. SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate that there is an increased risk of developing ulcerative colitis with increasing serum PFOA; however, the effect is not statistically significant, and has substantial uncertainty. Further research and studies are warranted to enhance the precision of these estimates and clarify the nature of this association. IMPACT: This literature review and meta-analysis evaluate the epidemiologic evidence linking PFAS exposure to irritable bowel disease (IBD)-specifically ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Results were heterogeneous, and meta-analyses yielded null findings across all PFAS-outcome pairs. Risk of bias due to exposure misclassification, reverse causation, and inadequate control sampling limited confidence in the findings. These results highlight the need for future research and rigorously designed studies to evaluate PFAS as environmental risk factors for IBD.
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