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AIMS: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent environmental pollutants that may be associated with weight gain. This scoping review synthesizes current evidence on the relationship between PFAS exposure levels and obesity outcomes in adult populations. METHODS: The databases Medline, EMBASE, Global Health, CAB Abstracts and Scopus were used to identify articles related to PFAS and adult obesity published in English between 2009 and 2024. Articles were screened by two independent reviewers. We summarized the study characteristics and direction and magnitude of associations between PFAS and obesity metrics. RESULTS: In total, 1423 articles were identified, with 546 remaining after removing duplicates and citation searching. After screening for inclusion criteria, 55 were included for a full-text review, and 28 were ultimately included in this study. Most studies examined the following PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFDA, EtFOSAA and MeFOSAA. Obesity-related outcomes included BMI, body fat percentage, and gestational weight gain. Seven studies focused on pregnant women, and 21 on a non-pregnant adult population. Among the pregnant women populations, associations were mixed for PFOA (28.6 % positive, 14.3 % negative, 57.1 % null) and PFOS (42.9 % positive, 57.1 % null). Among the non-pregnant adult populations, associations were mixed for PFOA (40 % positive, 15 % negative, 45 % null), PFOS (26.3 % positive, 10.5 % negative, 63.2 % null), and PFNA (44.4 % positive, 16.7 % negative, 38.9 % null). Associations between other types of PFAS and obesity-related outcomes were more consistently null. CONCLUSION: The evidence regarding the association between PFAS and obesity in adults is inconsistent. Associations vary based on the type of PFAS, timing of exposure, and obesity metric examined. Further research is needed to fully elucidate the relationship between PFAS and obesity.
Obeegadoo et al. (Tue,) studied this question.