Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are highly persistent and are widely used in food packaging and textiles. Some of the more common PFCs are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and pefluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS). These PFCs have elimination half-lives of about 4 years, in humans, and are commonly found in human serum.
Does PFC Exposure Affect Antibody Response in Children?
A recent research article published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) concluded that despite receiving the full schedule of vaccinations, exposure to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) may adversely affect the effectiveness of childhood immunizations in children aged 5 and 7 years.
The objective of the JAMA study was to determine whether PFC exposure could be associated with antibody responses to childhood vaccinations. The study focused on (1) antibody responses to diphtheria and tetanus toxoids as indicators of immunotoxicity in children, and (2) the fishing community of the Faroe Islands. A total of 656 consecutive singleton births were recruited for the study during 1999 and 2001; of the 656, 587 participated in follow-up studies through 2008.
The study found that elevated exposure to PFCs was associated with reduced humoral immune response to routine childhood immunizations; “if the associations are causal, the clinical importance of our findings is therefore that PFC exposure may increase a child’s risk for not being protected against diphtheria and tetanus, despite a full schedule of vaccinations”.
Vaccination and Immunity: Humoral Immune Response (HIR)
A vaccine protects against a particular disease. When antibodies are involved, immunity is referred to as humoral immunity. The humoral immune response (HIR) is comprised of a primary and secondary response. The primary response is triggered when a foreign substance (antigen) is encountered for the first time; this response may be too slow to protect against all disease-causing agents (pathogens). The secondary response is triggered when a foreign substance (antigen) has been encountered before; this response is faster and more effective than the primary response.
Administering vaccines exposes people to certain foreign substances (antigens) in minute quantities and this exposure enables a secondary response upon natural exposure to such disease-causing agents (pathogens) in the future. The findings of the JAMA study “suggest a decreased effect of childhood vaccines and may reflect a more general immune system deficit”. Thus, risk assessment due to exposure “therefore needs to consider the immunotoxic potentials of PFCs”.
Source: Grandjean, P., et al. Serum Vaccine Antibody Concentrations in Children Exposed to Perfluorinated Compounds. JAMA, Vol 307, No. 4, 2012.
Rehan Choudhary - Rehan's education is as follows: 1. BS Chemical Engineering 2. BA Economics 3. MBA He has worked for prestigous Fortune 100 ...
Join the Conversation