Human Exposure Pathways to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs)-A Comprehensive Review of Sources, Physicochemical Properties, and Human Health Risk Assessment.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review without systematic search or meta-analytic methodology reported.
PubMed 42347425 · doi:10.3390/toxics14060528
What was done
This review synthesized literature on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), focusing on their physicochemical properties, exposure pathways, toxicological outcomes (including cancer, hepatotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and maternal-fetal outcomes), and the efficacy of current global regulatory models.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, effect sizes, or risk estimates. It qualitatively reports that recent data show heterogeneity and methodological inconsistencies in cancer links, whereas evidence indicates systemic toxicities—such as hepatotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and maternal-fetal disruptions—driven by mixture exposures and sex-specific metabolic dimorphisms. It also notes that short-chain substitutes resist conventional water treatment and exhibit high environmental mobility, rendering single-substance regulatory frameworks insufficient.
Why it matters
The paper synthesizes growing evidence that substance-by-substance regulation fails to capture mixture toxicities and persistent short-chain substitutes, supporting a shift toward class-based regulation and destructive remediation.
Limits
As a narrative review, it presents no primary experimental or clinical data. The abstract does not report systematic search parameters, study inclusion criteria, or the number and design of individual studies reviewed.
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