According to new research, the link between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and kidney damage could be due to dysregulation of the gut microbiota, which is made up of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in the digestive tract. PFAS are chemicals that are created and used in a variety of items, including furniture and food packaging. They are frequently referred to as "forever chemicals" because once they collect in the environment or the human body , they take a long time to break down.
How PFAS chemicals harm kidney function through gut health The group of chemicals is known to increase risk for a range of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic kidney disease, but the biological mechanisms behind that risk are poorly understood. "Nearly everyone has PFAS in their blood, and these chemicals are associated with a number of negative health effects. But we don't have any known interventions to reduce PFAS in the body, so we can't actually provide recommendations to help," said Hailey Hampson, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, who is lead author of the new study.
Findings from the research, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, are starting to connect the dots between that problem and potential solutions. Building on past studies that link kidney damage to both PFAS and gut problems, the research team analyzed the three factors together for .
