NEED TO KNOW
\nResearchers have found a new link between exposure to \u201cforever chemicals\u201d\u00a0and one lifelong health conditionA study found that people exposed to two major environmental toxins are more likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis\u201cForever chemicals\u201d are synthetic compounds found in products like non-stick pans, waterproof clothing and dental floss<\/p>\n
Researchers have found a new link between exposure to \u201cforever chemicals\u201d \u2014 synthetic compounds found in non-stick pans, waterproof clothing, dental floss and more items \u2014 and one lifelong health condition.\n<\/p>\n
A new study, published in the scientific journal Environment International<\/a>, found that people exposed to two major environmental toxins \u2014 known as perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) \u2014 are more likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, or MS.\n<\/p>\n “We saw that several individual substances, such as PFOS and two hydroxylated PCBs [substances that arise when PCBs are broken down in the body], were linked to increased odds for MS,” Kim Kultima, who led the Sweden-based study, said in a press release<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n “People with the highest concentrations of PFOS and PCBs had approximately twice as high odds of being diagnosed with MS, compared with those with the lowest concentrations,” she added.\n<\/p>\n Brain scan (stock image).<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n According to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>, multiple sclerosis is a\u00a0chronic autoimmune disease that causes a breakdown of the protective covering of nerves, causing numbness, weakness, trouble walking, vision changes and other symptoms.<\/p>\n MS causes an interruption in communication between the brain and the rest of the body, and can eventually lead to permanent damage of the nerve fibers.\n<\/p>\n In this study, researchers analyzed blood samples from 900 people who had been recently diagnosed with MS, and compared them to samples from people who do not have MS.\n<\/p>\n Kultima and her team then measured the toxin levels in each group’s blood samples, using statistical models see how chemical exposure corresponded with the odds of developing MS. According to the study, people are often exposed to a mixture chemicals at the same time, so researchers also investigated how exposure to more than one toxin affected them.<\/p>\n “We could then see that an increase in total exposure was linked to higher odds of MS, even after adjusting for previously known lifestyle and genetic risk factors,” said Aina Vaivade, the first author of the study.\n<\/p>\n A non-stick pan (stock image).<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n The final phase of the study also explored the relationship between genetics, chemical exposure and the odds of being diagnosed with MS.\n<\/p>\n Researchers found that people who carry a certain gene variant have a reduced risk of MS. People who carry the gene and participated in the study saw “unexpected increased odds” of being diagnosed with MS when they had higher PFOS exposure.\n<\/p>\n “This indicates that there is a complex interaction between inheritance and environmental exposure linked to the odds of MS,” Kultima added.\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n \u201cForever chemicals\u201d can last for years in the body without breaking down and are linked to cancer, fetal complications, liver disease, kidney disease, thyroid disease, fertility problems, autoimmune disorders and other serious health issues, previous research has found<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n The latest study’s authors believe that there is still more to research when it comes to \u201cforever chemicals\u201d \u2014 including what happens when people are exposed to several chemicals at once.\n<\/p>\n “The results show that when attempting to understand the effects of PFAS and other chemicals on human beings, we need to take mixtures of chemicals into account, not just individual substances, as people are generally exposed to several substances at the same time,” Vaivade said.<\/p>\n Although PCBs were banned in the U.S. in 1979 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Toxic Substances Control Act, they are still found in the environment today \u2014 and PFAS are still used today in products ranging from fast food wrappers to smart watch bands<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We … think it is important to understand how environmental contaminants interact with hereditary factors, as this can provide new knowledge about the genesis of MS and could also be relevant for other diseases,” Kultima added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEED TO KNOW Researchers have found a new link between exposure to \u201cforever chemicals\u201d\u00a0and one lifelong health conditionA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":{"0":"post-359469","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}