Title: Co-Exposure to PFAS and Flame Retardants & Risk for Thyroid Disease

Funding: NIH/NIEHS (National Institute of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

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Principle Investigator: Heather Stapleton, PhD

Goal

Determine whether per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and flame retardant (FR) exposures among firefighters increases the risk for thyroid disease and cancer.  This involves identifying predictors and sources of PFAS and FR exposure, developing exposure mitigation strategies, investigating associations between blood PFAS and FR levels with thyroid hormone levels, and investigating thyroid antibodies using longitudinal data collection while examining differences by sex and age.

Specific Aims

1.     Identify predictors and sources of PFAS and FR exposure among firefighters.

2.     Examine singular and co-exposures to PFAS and FRs and their associations with circulating thyroid hormones.

Assess the relationship between co-exposure to PFAS and FRs with thyroid antibodies.

Anticipated Impact

Our long-term research goal is to elucidate the impact of chronic co-exposure to contaminants on thyroid disease risk and help firefighters develop strategies and policies to mitigate these exposures and live longer and healthier lives.

Study Updates

  • TBD