Abstract
Fish and shellfish (“seafood”) consumption has health benefits yet is a source of exposure to bioaccumulative environmental contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), that may cause adverse health impacts. We conducted a population-based survey of 1829 New Hampshire (NH) residents in June 2021 to determine consumption frequency, portion size, types and sources of seafood among adults and children (2–11 years old). We purchased the most commonly consumed species from a seafood market in Portsmouth, NH and quantified 26 PFAS compounds. For PFAS with available health guidance values we calculated hazard quotients to assess exposure risk from seafood consumption. Among adults, 95% reported consuming seafood within the last year and shrimp, haddock, salmon, and canned tuna were most frequently consumed. Based on consumption frequencies and meal sizes, we estimated daily seafood consumption rates for adults (median: 33.9 g/day; 95% CI 26.0, 41.8) and children (5.0 g/day; 2.3, 7.7), which are somewhat higher than National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimates for the Northeastern US. In local market basket shrimp and lobster, PFAS were detected at median concentrations ranging from below the limit of detection to 1.74 and 3.30 ng/g, respectively. Hazard quotients suggest that high seafood consumers may be exposed to PFAS concentrations that potentially pose a health risk. Our findings support future development of environmental and health-based policies to protect people from exposure to PFAS found in commonly consumed seafood.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during the current study are not publicly available due to ongoing related research but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request and in accordance with guidelines of the Dartmouth CPHS, the Dartmouth College IRB, and Dartmouth’s data sharing policy.
Abbreviations
- ACS:
-
American Community Survey
- HGV:
-
Health guidance value
- LOD:
-
Limit of detection
- NH:
-
New Hampshire
- NHANES:
-
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
- PCB:
-
Polychlorinated biphenyls
- PFAS:
-
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
- UNHSC:
-
University of New Hampshire Survey Center
- USDA:
-
United States Department of Agriculture
- US EPA:
-
United States Environmental Protection Agency
- US FDA:
-
United States Food and Drug Administration
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Acknowledgements
Research reported in this project was supported by the National Institutes of Health through awards R21 ES032187 and R21 ES032187-S1 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and P20GM104416 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The authors wish to thank the Granite State Panel participants for responding to our survey. Survey development was made possible by technical assistance from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
Funding
Research reported in this project was supported by the National Institutes of Health under awards from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences R21 ES032187 and R21 ES032187-S1. MER was supported in part by a grant from National Institute of General Medical Sciences P20 GM104416.
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All authors provided critical review and feedback of the manuscript. MER led the study design, electronic survey development, data management processes, oversaw all data analyses, and participated in drafting the manuscript. KAC assisted with survey development and drafted the manuscript. LGG assisted with data management, conducted statistical analyses, and drafted portions of the manuscript. NGG handled seafood samples from harvest through extraction, and assisted with statistical analyses and manuscript preparation. CLG assisted with seafood sample extraction and chemical data analysis. TMH and SF analyzed PFAS compounds in seafood samples. JMP and CYC assisted with study design and provided critical feedback during survey development. TK supported survey development and supervised survey implementation.
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Crawford, K.A., Gallagher, L.G., Giffard, N.G. et al. Patterns of Seafood Consumption Among New Hampshire Residents Suggest Potential Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. Expo Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-024-00640-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-024-00640-w