PFAS-Induced Chronic Kidney Disease

Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, better known by their acronym PFAS, are regarded as 'forever chemicals'. There are thousands of them.

PFAS molecules are made up of a chain of linked carbon and fluorine atoms. Because the carbon-fluorine bond is one of the strongest, these chemicals do not degrade in the environment. In fact, PFAS degrade so slowly (if at all) that scientists are unable to estimate an environmental half-life for PFAS, which is the amount of time it takes 50% of the chemical to disappear.

PFAS are widely used, long lasting chemicals. Variants of PFAS keep food from sticking to cookware, make clothes and carpets resistant to stains, and create firefighting foam that is more effective.

PFAS are used in industries such as aerospace, automotive, construction, electronics, and military. Because of their widespread use and their persistence in the environment, many PFAS are found in the blood of people and animals all over the world and are present at low levels in a variety of food products and in the environment.

It wouldn't be a problem if FPAS was 'just present' in the environment and in our body, but it has a detrimental effect on your kidneys[1]. Research shows that 'systemic changes were observed in the kidney, liver and testes, and histopathologic lesions such as renal tubular necrosis, hepatocellular necrosis, and germ cell degeneration were seen...'[2].

We propose to call this Chronic Kidney Disease of non-Traditional causes (CKDnT): FPAS-Induced Chronic Kidney Disease.

[1] Park et al: Perfluoroalkyl substances and cognitive function in older adults: Should we consider non-monotonic dose-responses and chronic kidney disease? in Environmental Research – 2021. See here.
[2] Han et al: Subacute dermal toxicity of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids: comparison with different carbon-chain lengths in human skin equivalents and systemic effects of perfluoroheptanoic acid in Sprague Dawley rats in Archives of Toxicology - 2020