PFCs are human-made chemicals used in a variety of household products including food containers, clothing, furniture, carpets and paints. Their broad use has resulted in widespread dissemination in water, air, soil, plant life, animals and humans, eve in remote parts of the world. A probability sample of U.S. adults, found measurable concentrations of PFCs in 98 percent of the participants tested.
“The current study is the largest ever to be done on the endocrine-disrupting effects of perfluorocarbons in human women,” said Sarah Knox, PhD, of the West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown and lead author of the study. “Our data shows that after controlling for age, women of perimenopausal and menopausal age in this large population are more likely to have experienced menopause if they have higher serum concentrations of PFCs than their counterparts with lower levels.”
In this study of 25,957 women aged 18 to 65 years, researchers ascertained menopausal status of participants and then measured their serum concentration levels of PFCs and estradiol. They found that there was an association between PFC exposure, decreased estradiol and early menopause in women over age 42. There was also an inverse association between PFC levels and estradiol in women of child bearing age but this association was not statistically significant.
Read more here: Exposure to chemicals in Environment associated with onset of Early Menopause