Leveraging Systematic Reviews to Explore Disease Burden and Costs of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposures in the United States

• DOI: 10.1007/s12403-022-00496-y
• Publication Date: 2022-07-29T18:15:47Z
• Authors: Vladislav Obsekov; Linda G. Kahn; Leonardo Trasande
• Keywords: Original Paper; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; 3. Good health

Accelerating evidence confirms the contribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to disease burden disability across lifespan. Given that policy makers raise high cost remediation substituting PFAS with safer alternatives in consumer products as barriers confronting adverse health outcomes associated exposure, it is important document costs inaction even presence uncertainty. We therefore quantified burdens related economic due legacy exposures US 2018. leveraged systematic reviews used meta-analytic inputs whenever possible, identified previously published exposure-response relationships, calculated PFOA- PFOS-attributable increases 13 conditions. These increments were then applied census data determine total annual cases disease, from which we medical care lost productivity using cost-of-illness data. PFAS-attributable $5.52 billion five primary endpoints shown be exposure meta-analyses. This estimate represented lower bound, sensitivity analyses revealing much $62.6 overall costs. While further work needed assess probability causation establish greater certainty effects broader category PFAS, results confirm public interventions are still necessary reduce PFOA PFOS their endocrine-disrupting effects. study demonstrates large potential implications regulatory inaction.