Association between Serum Perfluorinated Chemicals and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in US School-age Children

The wide detection of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in environment, wildlife and human has raised increasing concerns about the neurotoxicity of these chemicals. Experimental studies have shown their developmental neurotoxicity in several animal species. However, epidemiological evidence on their developmental neurotoxicity remains very limited. In this study, we used the 1999-2000 and 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine associations between serum concentrations of PFCs and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among children aged 12-19 years old (N=1,190). After adjusting for covariates including demographic factors, blood cotinine, and blood lead, exposure to the highest level of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid was significantly associated with ADHD as compared with the lowest level(OR=3.04, 95%CI: 1.10-8.42 in the 2nd tertile, OR=4.07, 95%CI: 1.73-9.58 in the 3rd tertile, P for trend=0.001). The finding indicates that perfluorinated chemicals may play a role in the neurodevelopment of the US children. While our results reinforce the findings from the experimental studies, further study in a longitudinal sample is warranted.