Multicenter retrospective study of association between exposure to PFAS in residential settled dust and risk of childhood ALL

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous. Young children, owing in part to crawling and hand-to-mouth behaviours, are commonly exposed to these chemical via ingestion of settled dust. Several PFAS have been associated with cancers in adults, yet little is known about the risk in children. A multicenter retrospective study in California analyzed the concentrations of 19 types of PFAS in vacuumized dust from the homes of 178 children (0-7 years of age) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 207 healthy control children. There was a positive association with the risk of ALL of the concentration of N-ethyl perfluorooctane sulfinamido acetic acid (EtFOSAA; 4^th versus 1^st quartile OR 2.58; 95% CI 1.16-5.71). A mixture of eight PFAS types with a concentration of at least 50% above the limit of quantification was also positively associated with childhood ALL (OR 1.60; 95% CI 1.15-2.24). The authors conclude that exposure to certain PFAS in settled dust was associaties with elevated risk of childhood ALL.