Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42347376›Full record

ArticleToxics2026

Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and the Risk of Sarcopenia: The Mediating Role of Serum Albumin.

Mingkun Sun, Chu Chu, Kun Zhao, Zhengmin Min Qian, Mario Schootman, Stephen Edward McMillin, Jiaxiang Dong, Wenwen Bao, Muhammad Amjad, Haseeb Tufail Moryani and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Toxics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Mingkun SunJoint International Research Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Chu ChuJoint International Research Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Kun ZhaoJoint International Research Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Zhengmin Min QianDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College for Public Health & Social Justice, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9816-1379
Mario SchootmanDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Springdale, AR 72762, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1162-8824
Stephen Edward McMillinSchool of Social Work, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63103, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0558-8731
Jiaxiang DongThornlea Secondary School, York Region District School Board, 8075 Bayview Avenue, Thornhill, ON L3T 4N4, Canada.
Wenwen BaoJoint International Research Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Muhammad AmjadJoint International Research Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.ORCID 0000-0001-8191-635X
Haseeb Tufail MoryaniJoint International Research Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Yang ZhouJoint International Research Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Yan YangEngineering Research Center of Small Molecule Drugs, Ministry of Education, College of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510310, China.
Peipei WangSleep Medicine Department, Sanya Central Hospital (The Third People's Hospital of Hainan Province), Sanya 572029, China.ORCID 0000-0001-8786-0510

Funding

Guangxi Key Research and Development Plan GUIKEAB24010219National Natural Science Foundation of China U24A20766Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease SKLRD-OP-202402Scientific and Technological Projects of Guangdong Province 2025A0505020035the National Key Research and Development Program of China 2023YFC3905203
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Widespread exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a growing public health concern, but its link to muscle damage remains largely unexplored. As PFAS exposure is associated with liver dysfunction, which is an established risk factor for muscle damage, we examined their associations and potential mediating pathways. A total of 1261 participants were recruited from Guangdong province, China, from November 2018 to August 2019 and examined for muscle mass, strength, serum PFAS levels, and biomarkers of liver function. The key results demonstrated significant positive associations between serum PFAS exposure and sarcopenia risk. Specifically, a per ln ng/mL increase in linear perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), branch PFOS, and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was associated with adjusted odds ratios of 2.32 (95% CI: 1.77 to 3.00), 2.18 (95% CI: 1.67 to 2.90) and 3.01 (95% CI: 1.96 to 4.70), respectively. Analysis of PFAS mixtures via the BKMR model revealed a linear dose-response relationship of sarcopenia, with PFOS and PFOA being the primary contributor. Importantly, mediation analyses showed that liver function biomarkers served as significant mediators of the PFAS-sarcopenia association. Notably, liver synthesis function markers (albumin and globin) mediated a substantial proportion of the association, ranging from 3.48% to 82.42%, whereas liver injury markers (aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl transferase) accounted for only 1.54% to 15.44%. This study underscores the need to be aware of the increased risk of muscle damage associated with PFAS exposure, which may primarily operate through liver function abnormalities.

Indexed as

bio-electrical impedance analysisliver dysfunctionmuscle lossPFAS isomerskeletal muscle

Identifiers

PMID42347376
PMCPMC13307807

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.