TY - JOUR
T1 - A Nested Case–Control Study of Serum Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Testicular Germ Cell Tumors among U.S. Air Force Servicemen
AU - Purdue, Mark P.
AU - Rhee, Jongeun
AU - Denic-Roberts, Hristina
AU - McGlynn, Katherine A.
AU - Byrne, Celia
AU - Sampson, Joshua
AU - Botelho, Julianne Cook
AU - Calafat, Antonia M.
AU - Rusiecki, Jennifer
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs through the Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program (W81XWH-19-1-1044) and the Intramural Research Program of the NCI, National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs through the Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program (W81XWH-19-1-1044) and the Intramural Research Program of the NCI, National Institutes of Health (NIH). Opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and are not to be construed as official or necessarily endorsed by the DoD, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the U.S. CDC, or the NIH. The use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. CDC, the Public Health Service, the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Defense.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, Public Health Services, US Dept of Health and Human Services. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - BACKGROUND: Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a component of firefighting foams used at military installations. Although high PFAS exposures have been related to cancer risks among civilian populations, the effects for military personnel are unclear. OBJECTIVES: We investigated associations between serum PFAS concentrations and testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) among U.S. Air Force servicemen. METHODS: This nested case–control study involved active-duty Air Force servicemen with sera from the Department of Defense Serum Repository. We selected 530 cases and 530 controls individually matched on birth date, race and ethnicity, year entered the service, and year of sample collection, with prediagnostic serum samples collected between 1988 and 2017. A second prediagnostic sample, collected a median of 4 y after the first, was selected for 187 case–control pairs. Seven PFAS were quantified using isotope-dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confi-dence intervals (CIs) from conditional logistic regression adjusting for military grade, number of deployments, and, in some models, other PFAS, estimated associations between PFAS concentrations (categorized using quartiles among controls) and TGCT. RESULTS: Elevated concentrations of some PFAS were observed for military employment in firefighting [perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), per-fluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctanoic acid] and service at a base with high PFAS concentrations in drinking water (PFHxS). Elevated PFOS concentrations in the second sample were positively associated with TGCT [OR for fourth vs. first quartile ðORQ4 Þ = 2:6, 95% CI: 1.1, 6.4; ptrend = 0:02], including after adjustment for other PFAS (ORQ4 = 4:6, 95% CI: 1.4, 15.1; ptrend = 0:009). Associations with PFOS in the first/only samples were weak and not statistically significant. Elevated concentrations of perfluorononanoic acid were inversely associated with TGCT, whereas results were null for other PFAS. DISCUSSION: We identified service-related predictors of PFAS concentrations and increased TGCT relative risks with elevated PFOS concentrations among Air Force servicemen. These findings warrant further investigation in other populations and military service branches. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12603.
AB - BACKGROUND: Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a component of firefighting foams used at military installations. Although high PFAS exposures have been related to cancer risks among civilian populations, the effects for military personnel are unclear. OBJECTIVES: We investigated associations between serum PFAS concentrations and testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) among U.S. Air Force servicemen. METHODS: This nested case–control study involved active-duty Air Force servicemen with sera from the Department of Defense Serum Repository. We selected 530 cases and 530 controls individually matched on birth date, race and ethnicity, year entered the service, and year of sample collection, with prediagnostic serum samples collected between 1988 and 2017. A second prediagnostic sample, collected a median of 4 y after the first, was selected for 187 case–control pairs. Seven PFAS were quantified using isotope-dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confi-dence intervals (CIs) from conditional logistic regression adjusting for military grade, number of deployments, and, in some models, other PFAS, estimated associations between PFAS concentrations (categorized using quartiles among controls) and TGCT. RESULTS: Elevated concentrations of some PFAS were observed for military employment in firefighting [perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), per-fluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctanoic acid] and service at a base with high PFAS concentrations in drinking water (PFHxS). Elevated PFOS concentrations in the second sample were positively associated with TGCT [OR for fourth vs. first quartile ðORQ4 Þ = 2:6, 95% CI: 1.1, 6.4; ptrend = 0:02], including after adjustment for other PFAS (ORQ4 = 4:6, 95% CI: 1.4, 15.1; ptrend = 0:009). Associations with PFOS in the first/only samples were weak and not statistically significant. Elevated concentrations of perfluorononanoic acid were inversely associated with TGCT, whereas results were null for other PFAS. DISCUSSION: We identified service-related predictors of PFAS concentrations and increased TGCT relative risks with elevated PFOS concentrations among Air Force servicemen. These findings warrant further investigation in other populations and military service branches. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12603.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165120260&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1289/EHP12603
DO - 10.1289/EHP12603
M3 - Article
C2 - 37458713
AN - SCOPUS:85165120260
SN - 0091-6765
VL - 131
JO - Environmental Health Perspectives
JF - Environmental Health Perspectives
IS - 7
M1 - 077007
ER -