United States: The researchers from the University of Southern California or the USC researchers take a new step, connecting “forever chemical” levels in the blood to poor sleep.
More about the news
It’s the first study to look at whether blood levels of four types of per and polyfluoroalkyl (or PFAS) chemicals are linked to sleep, and was published in the October issue of Environmental Advances.
More than one hundred and forty of the 19- to 24-year-olds who had given blood samples in separate USC health studies over several years also participated in their study.
They also mentioned their duration and quality of sleep.
Researchers found four forever chemicals had strong connections to sleep quality or duration.
What more have the experts stated?
According to Shiwen (Sherlock) Li, the study co-author and a postdoctoral researcher at Keck School of Medicine of USC, “Sleep quality is an issue that affects almost everybody, so the impact of PFAS on sleep may have policy implications,” US News reported.
Li also said, “Long-term, poor sleep has been connected to outcomes including neurological and behavioral problems, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.”
More about the chemicals
PFAS chemicals are capable of lasting in the environment for years. Nonstick cookware to shampoo, often they’re in many consumer products.
They can also be eaten with food and water. Researchers noted that most Americans have detectable blood levels in their blood.PFDA, PFHxS, PFOA, and PFOS were linked to sleep problems in four of the seven types of PFAS tested.
Study participants with the highest blood levels of the first three of those chemicals slept, on average, about 1 hour and 20 minutes less every night than participants with the lowest levels.
Those sleeping the least were people with the highest blood levels of the first three chemicals — higher than six parts per billion for benzene and toluene and higher than three parts per billion for both xylene isomers.
They reported that problems falling asleep, staying asleep, waking up, and feeling tired during the day were linked to high blood PFOS levels.
Although widely used from the 1950s to the early 2000s, the four chemicals have since been largely phased out in favor of other chemicals for which safety was never established.
“What we measured in the blood is likely driven by exposure since birth or even prenatal exposure,” Li added,