Association between blood levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional study

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a persistent organic pollutant (POP) and frequently detected in human serum globally. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between serum PFOA and metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors in a cohort of Malaysian adults. Participants (n = 336) were recruited from primary care clinics in UiTM. Serum PFOA concentrations and metabolic parameters (fasting serum lipids, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, hsCRP and IL-6 were measured. The mean PFOA concentration was 2.8195 ng/ml (SEM = 0.3524), ranging from 1.14 to 45.44 ng/mL. Spearman correlation analysis of PFOA concentration with having a risk of MetS (0.070) and obesity (0.033), while others had a negative correlation; diabetes (−0.045), hypertension (−0.052) and dyslipidemia (−0.015). Although the correlation coefficients were small, the findings suggest a possible link between PFOA exposure and increased risk of MetS and obesity in this population.