(002) PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES (PFAS) AND FEMALE SEXUAL FUNCTION IN A PRECONCEPTION COHORT
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract Introduction Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are prevalent environmental chemicals used extensively in consumer and industrial products. Distressing disruptions to sexual function are prevalent in reproductive-aged women, yet its etiology is incompletely characterized. PFAS could plausibly affect sexual function because they interfere with the production, metabolism, and secretion of reproductive hormones and have known neurotoxic properties. To our knowledge, however, no research to date has evaluated associations between PFAS exposure and female sexual function. Objective To evaluate associations between PFAS biomarker concentrations and female sexual function. Methods We used cross-sectional data from the Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO; n=82), a preconception cohort study of female-identified pregnancy planners living in the United States or Canada, to estimate associations between PFAS biomarker concentrations and female sexual function, measured using 6 select items from the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). We summed scores from the FSFI items to create a sexual function score (range=0-30; median in PRESTO=22). Lower scores were indicative of worse sexual function. We measured concentrations of four PFAS (specifically PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, and PFHxS) in serum using isotope-dilution tandem mass spectrometry. We used multivariable linear regression to estimate mean differences in sexual function scores per interquartile range (IQR) increase in PFAS concentrations with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for potential confounders. We stratified results by parity (parous vs. nulliparous) to evaluate the potential for effect modification by prior pregnancy, as placental transfer, menstruation, and lactation are known routes of PFAS elimination. Results Median serum PFAS concentrations (ng/mL) were 1.3, 1.1, 0.3, and 0.7 for PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, and PFHxS, respectively. An IQR increase in PFHxS was associated with a 1.4-point decrease (95% CI -2.1, -0.6) in sexual function scores, reflecting a ~5% change. Among parous participants, there was a consistent trend of decreased sexual function scores per IQR increase in PFAS concentrations. The strongest association was observed for PFOS, where an IQR increase in serum concentration was associated with a 4.9-point decrease in sexual function scores (95% CI -9.1, -0.6). Conclusions These preliminary findings indicate that higher serum PFAS concentrations are associated with decreased self-reported female sexual function. Prior research evaluating the relationship between environmental chemical exposures and sexual function have historically focused on male outcomes (e.g., semen quality). These fundings suggest value in expanding research focused on the sexual health consequences of endocrine disrupting chemicals to include female sexual function. Disclosure Any of the authors act as a consultant, employee or shareholder of an industry for: LAW serves as a consultant to AbbVie, Inc.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".