The concentration of several perfluoroalkyl acids in serum appears to be reduced by dietary fiber

Fiber-rich food intake has been associated with lower serum concentrations of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in some studies and dietary fiber was related to lower serum PFAS in a recent study. Given the previous epidemiologic data suggesting that fiber might decrease serum PFAS concentrations, we examined the relation of serum PFAS concentrations to intake of dietary fiber in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. We examined the PFAS-fiber association among 6482 adults who participated in the NHANES, 2005-2016. Fiber intake was estimated based on two 24-hour diet recalls. We adjusted the models for determinants of PFAS and potentially confounding factors such as intake of foods reported to increase PFAS exposure. Results were expressed as the percent difference in PFAS concentration per interquartile range (IQR) increase in fiber (and 95 percent confidence interval), and the NHANES sampling parameters were used to make the results generalizable to the U.S. The adjusted percent difference in perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) per IQR increase in fiber was-3.64 (-6.15, -1.07); for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) was-6.69 (-9.57, -3.73), and for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) was-8.36 (-11.33, -5.29). These results suggest that dietary fiber increases the gastrointestinal excretion of PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA. Because fiber also lowers serum cholesterol, in some studies of the serum cholesterol-PFAS relationship confounding by fiber may be worth evaluating.

Automated summary

This study found a negative association between dietary fiber intake and serum concentrations of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), indicating that dietary fiber increases the gastrointestinal excretion of PFAS. Further research is warranted to explore the potential impact of fiber on the relationship between serum cholesterol and PFAS.