Bone growth and development

Prenatal and early postnatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and bone mineral content and density in the Odense Child Cohort, Environment International, November 2023.

Birth defects

Perfluorooctanoate Exposure and Major Birth Defects, Reproductive Toxicology, August 2014.

Cancer

Associations between per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and county-level cancer incidence between 2016 and 2021 and incident cancer burden attributable to PFAS in drinking water in the United States, Nature, January 2025. First-of-its-kind ecological study led by researchers at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine finds that the risk of developing certain cancers may be higher for people exposed to PFAS in U.S. drinking water.

• PFAS in drinking water linked to increased cancer risk, groundbreaking study finds, by Pamela Ferdinand, U.S. Right to Know (3.20.25)

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposure Combined with High-Fat Diet Supports Prostate Cancer Progression, Nutrients, September, 2021.

Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Exposures and Incident Cancers Among Adults Living Near a Chemical Plant, Environmental Health Perspectives, November 2013.

Perfluorooctanoic acid exposure and cancer outcomes in a contaminated community: a geographic analysis, Environmental Health Perspectives, March 2013

Child growth and development

PFAS exposure is associated with an unfavourable metabolic profile in infants six months of age, Environment International, November 2024. Maternal serum PFAS levels were negatively associated with infant birth size and positively associated with percental weight gain to six months.

Birth Outcomes in Relation to Prenatal Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Stress in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, Environmental Health Perspectives, March 2023

Metabolic Signatures of Youth Exposure to Mixtures of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: A Multi-Cohort Study, Environmental Health Perspectives, February 2023.

Cholesterol

Modeled PFOA exposure and coronary artery disease, hypertension, and high cholesterol in community and worker cohorts, Environmental Health Perspectives, December 2014.

Associations between PFOA, PFOS and changes in the expression of genes involved in cholesterol metabolism in humans, Environment International, July 2013.

Diabetes

Exposure to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in association to later occurrence of type 2 diabetes and metabolic pathway dysregulation in a multiethnic US population, The Lancet eBioMedicine, July 21, 2025

• Study links ‘forever chemicals’ to increase in Type 2 diabetes, Mt. Sinai Hospital, July 21, 2025

Incidence of type II diabetes in a cohort with substantial exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid, Environmental Research, January 2014.

Hormones

Perfluoroalkyl Substances, Sex Hormones, and Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 at 6-9 Years of Age: A Cross-Sectional Analysis within the C8 Health Project, Environmental Health Perspectives, August 2016.

PFOA and PFOS are associated with reduced expression of the parathyroid hormone 2 receptor (PTH2R) gene in women, Chemosphere, February 2015.

Hyperactivity

Serum Perfluorinated Compound Concentration and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children 5-18 Years of Age, Environmental Health Perspectives, October 2011.

Immune function

Common infections in children aged 6 months to 7 years after high prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances from contaminated drinking water in Ronneby, Sweden. Environmental Research, March 2025

• ‘Forever chemicals’ (PFAS) may weaken immune function in children, leading to more frequent infections, by Pamela Ferdinand, U.S. Right to Know (1.24.25)

Mixtures of PFAS reduce the in vitro activation of human T cells and basophil, Chemosphere, September 2023. See also press release from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, and coverage in Yahoo News.

Inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease and biomarkers of gut inflammation and permeability in a community with high exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances through drinking water, Environmental Research, November 2019.

Kidney Function

Perfluorooctanoic acid and chronic kidney disease: Longitudinal analysis of a Mid-Ohio Valley community, Environmental Research, April 2016.

Exposure to perfluoroalkyl acids and markers of kidney function among children and adolescents living near a chemical plant, Environmental Health Perspectives, May 2013.

Liver Function

Modeled Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Exposure and Liver Function in a Mid-Ohio Valley Community, Environmental Health Perspectives, August 2016.

Neuropsychological Outcomes

Perfluorooctanoate and neuropsychological outcomes in children, Epidemiology, July 2013.

Neurotoxicity

Neurotoxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Evidence and future directions, Science of the Total Environment, October 2024. “A growing body of research associated PFAS exposure with BBB disruption, calcium dysregulation, neurotransmitter alterations, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction, all contributing to neuronal impairment.”

Obesity

Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and sex-specific associations with offspring adiposity at 10 years of age: Metabolic perturbation plays a role, Environment International, October 2024

Associations of Prenatal Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Exposures with Offspring Adiposity and Body Composition at 16–20 Years of Age: Project Viva, Environmental Health Perspectives, December 2023

In uteroexposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and early childhood BMI trajectories: A mediation analysis with neonatal metabolic profiles, Science of the Total Environment, April 2023.

Early life perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure and overweight and obesity risk in adulthood in a community with elevated exposure, Environmental Research, July 2014.

Pregnancy

Impact of exposure uncertainty on the association between perfluorooctanoate and preeclampsia in the C8 Health Project population, Environmental Health Perspectives, January 2016.

Perfluorooctanoic Acid exposure and pregnancy outcome in a highly exposed community,Epidemiology, May 2012.

Relationship of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Exposure to Pregnancy Outcome Based on Birth Records in the Mid-Ohio Valley, Environmental Health Perspectives, March 2012.

Serum Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate Concentrations in Relation to Birth Outcomes in the Mid-Ohio Valley, 2005-2010, Environmental Health Perspectives, October 2013

PFOA and PFOS serum levels and miscarriage risk, Epidemiology, July 2014.

Puberty

Association of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) with age of puberty among children living near a chemical plant, Environment Science & Technology, October 2011.

Reproductive impacts / sperm

Maternal Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Male Reproductive Function in Young Adulthood: Combined Exposure to Seven PFAS, Environmental Health Perspectives, October 2022.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure is associated with polycystic ovary syndrome risk among women attending a fertility clinic, Science of the Total Environment, August 2024.

Thyroid

Metabolic Signatures of Youth Exposure to Mixtures of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: A Multi-Cohort Study, Environmental Health Perspectives, February 2023.

High exposure to perfluorinated compounds in drinking water and thyroid disease. A cohort study from Ronneby, Sweden. Environmental Research, September 2019.

Exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and thyroid function in pregnant women and children: A systematic review of epidemiologic studies, Environment International, February 2017.

Perfluorooctanoic acid exposure and thyroid disease in community and worker cohorts,:Epidemiology, March 2014.

Thyroid Function and Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Children Living Near a Chemical Plant,Environmental Health Perspectives, March 2012.

Ulcerative colitis

PFOA and ulcerative colitis, Environmental Research, May 2018.

Ulcerative colitis and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in a highly exposed population of community residents and workers in the Mid-Ohio Valley,:Environmental Health Perspectives, August 2013.

Exposure, water contamination issues, general

Forever Pesticides: A Growing Source of PFAS Contamination in the Environment, Environmental Health Perspectives, July 2024.

• PFAS widely added to US pesticides despite EPA denial, study finds — The Guardian
• Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ found in pesticides used on food, in homes and on pets, study finds — CNN Health

Estimated Transfer of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) from Maternal Serum to Breast Milk in Women Highly Exposed from Contaminated Drinking Water: A Study in the Ronneby Mother–Child Cohort, Science of the Total Environment, May 2023.

PFASchemicals were detected in every umbilical cord blood sample across 40 studies conducted over the last five years, according to a review of scientific literature conducted by the Environmental Working Group. November 2022.

• ‘Forever chemicals’ detected in all umbilical cord blood in 40 studies — The Guardian

Revisiting pesticide pollution: The case of fluorinated pesticides, Environmental Pollution, January 2022.

Evaluation and management strategies for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in drinking water aquifers: perspectives from impacted U.S. northeast communities,:Environmental Health Perspectives, June 2018.

Half-lives of PFOS, PFHxS and PFOA after end of exposure to contaminated drinking water, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, November 2017.

Technical Report: Half-lives of PFOS, PFHxS and PFOA after end of exposure to contaminated drinking water, The Sahlgrenska Academy Institute Of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, 2017.

A cohort incidence study of workers exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA),:Occupational Environmental Medicine, May 2015.

Associations Between Serum Perfluoroalkyl Acids and LINE-1 DNA Methylation, Environment International, February 2014.

Cohort mortality study of workers exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid, American Journal of Epidemiology, November 2012.

Environmental fate and transport modeling for perfluorooctanoic acid emitted from the Washington Works Facility in West Virginia, Environment Science & Technology, January 2011.

Private drinking water wells as a source of exposure to PFOA in communities surrounding a fluoropolymer production facility, Environmental Health Perspectives, January 2011.

Biomarker-based calibration of retrospective exposure predictions of perfluorooctanoic acid, Environmental Science & Technology, May 2014.

Accumulation and clearance of PFOA in current and former residents of an exposed community, Environmental Health Perspectives, January 2011.

Epidemiologic evidence on the health effects of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA),Environmental Health Perspectives, August 2010.

The C8 Health Project: Design, methods, and participants, Environmental Health Perspectives, December 2009.

List of articles from the following source:

Malkan, Stacy. (2025). U.S. Right to Know. PFAS 'forever chemicals tied to cancer, birth defects. Retrieved from https://usrtk.org/chemicals/pfas-health-concerns-and-efforts-to-regulate-forever-chemicals/ on April 30, 2026.