Susceptibility to COVID-19 after High Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances from Contaminated Drinking Water: An Ecological Study from Ronneby, Sweden

Christel Nielsen and Anna Jöud
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Christel Nielsen: Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
Anna Jöud: Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-8

Abstract: There is concern that immunotoxic environmental contaminants, particularly perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), may play a role in the clinical course of COVID-19 and epidemiologic studies are needed to answer if high-exposed populations are especially vulnerable in light of the ongoing pandemic. The objective was, therefore, to determine if exposure to highly PFAS-contaminated drinking water was associated with an increased incidence of COVID-19 in Ronneby, Sweden, during the first year of the pandemic. We conducted an ecological study determining the sex- and age-standardized incidence ratio (SIR) in the adult population relative to a neighboring reference town with similar demographic characteristics but with only background levels of exposure. In Sweden, COVID-19 is subject to mandatory reporting, and we retrieved aggregated data on all verified cases until 3 March 2021 from the Public Health Agency of Sweden. The SIR in Ronneby was estimated at 1.19 (95% CI: 1.12; 1.27). The results suggest a potential link between high PFAS exposure and susceptibility to COVID-19 that warrants further research to clarify causality.

Keywords: COVID-19; PFAS; drinking water contamination; public health; immunotoxicity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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