Widespread chemicals may cause high blood pressure in women
Called “forever chemicals” because they linger in the environment, new research suggests that middle-aged women with high levels of perfluoroalkyls and polyfluoroalkyls, or PFAS, in their blood may be more vulnerable to high blood pressure.
In the study, women aged 45 to 56 who had the highest concentrations of seven of these chemicals were 71% more likely to develop high blood pressure than women with the lowest levels of PFAS.
“Obesity, stress and smoking are well-known risk factors for high blood pressure, and PFAS may be as important as or even more important than these factors because PFAS are widespread, and almost all people are exposed to PFAS,” said study author Sung Kyun Park. He is an associate professor of epidemiology and environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.
PFAS can be found in water, soil, air and food. They are used in everyday household items, including shampoo, dental floss, cosmetics, nonstick cookware, food packaging, clothing and more.
This isn’t the first study to suggest that PFAS can harm cardiovascular health. These chemicals have also been linked to heart disease risk and high cholesterol.
Exactly how they affect blood pressure levels isn’t fully understood yet. But “PFAS are very similar to the building blocks of fats, so PFAS can disrupt the action of body’s metabolism and blood pressure control,” Park explained.
Exposure to PFAS can be reduced through policy changes that regulate PFAS discharge to waterways and the use of PFAS in products, he said.
For the study, Park and his colleagues looked at blood levels of seven specific PFAS in more than 1,000 middle-aged U.S. women who had normal blood pressure when the study began. Women were followed annually from 1999 to 2017. During this time, 470 women developed high blood pressure.
More research is needed to see if the findings apply to men, the authors said.
The findings were published in the journal Hypertension.