Disease-specific RRs for PFOA from Cox regression for outcomes with 20 or more cases
| Disease | Number of cases* | RR quartile 1 | RR quartile 2† | RR quartile 3 | RR quartile 4 | p Value trend log cumulative exposure | p Value trend via categories‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No lag ulcerative colitis | 28 | 1.00 | 1.57 (0.52 to 4.76) | 0.57 (0.10 to 3.11) | 2.74 (0.78 to 9.65) | 0.05 | 0.26 |
| 10-year lag ulcerative colitis | 28 | 1.00 | 3.00 (0.82 to 11.0) | 3.26 (0.70 to 15.10) | 6.57 (1.47 to 29.40) | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| No lag rheumatoid arthritis | 23 | 1.00 | 2.11 (0.49 to 8.98) | 4.08 (0.96 to 17.2) | 4.45 (0.99 to 19.9) | 0.54 | 0.04 |
| 10-year lag rheumatoid arthritis | 23 | 1.00 | 1.74 (0.45 to 6.77) | 2.12 (0.4 to 11.1) | 2.62 (0.47 to 14.7) | 0.75 | 0.06 |
| No lag bladder cancer | 29 | 1.00 | 0.32 (0.08 to 1.33 | 0.95 (0.28 to 3.14) | 0.23 (0.05 to 0.93) | 0.04 | 0.19 |
| 10-year lag bladder cancer | 29 | 1.00 | 0.55(0.12 to 2.61) | 0.47 (0.10 to 2.21) | 0.31 (0.06 to 1.54) | 0.06 | 0.03 |
| No lag colorectal cancer | 41 | 1.00 | 0.58 (0.18 to 1.87) | 1.43 (0.49 to 4.19) | 1.20 (0.39 to 3.62) | 0.91 | 0.68 |
| 10-year lag colorectal cancer | 41 | 1.00 | 0.31 (0.90 to 1.11) | 0.99 (0.33 to 2.94) | 1.06 (0.34 to 3.31) | 0.86 | 0.89 |
| No lag prostate cancer | 129 | 1.00 | 1.81 (0.69 to 4.78) | 2.45 (0.96 to 6.25) | 1.88 (0.72 to 4.88) | 0.83 | 0.11 |
| 10-year lag prostate cancer | 129 | 1.00 | 1.92 (0.56 to 6.58) | 1.89 (0.57 to 6.34) | 2.15 (0.64 to 7.26) | 0.91 | 0.10 |
| No lag melanoma | 41 | 1.00 | 1.16 (0.38 to 3.54) | 1.45 (0.47 to 4.45) | 0.88 (0.26 to 2.95) | 0.16 | 0.72 |
| 10-year lag melanoma | 41 | 1.00 | 0.85 (0.27 to 2.71) | 1.10 (0.34 to 3.58) | 0.75 (0.21 to 2.67) | 0.55 | 0.33 |
| No lag non-hepatitis liver | 35 | 1.00 | 0.55 (0.17 to 1.77) | 1.27 (0.44 to 3.65) | 0.88 (0.27 to 2.85) | 0.86 | 0.83 |
| 10-year lag non-hepatitis liver | 35 | 1.00 | 1.46 (0.42 to 5.04) | 2.13 (0.59 to 7.71) | 2.02 (0.50 to 8.10) | 0.40 | 0.08 |
| No lag male thyroid disease | 82 | 1.00 | 1.64 (0.82 to 3.29) | 1.13 (0.50 to 2.54) | 2.16 (0.98 to 4.77) | 0.98 | 0.10 |
| 10-year lag male thyroid disease | 82 | 1.00 | 1.23 (0.57 to 2.66) | 1.70 (0.74 to 3.91) | 1.71 (0.68 to 4.25) | 0.55 | 0.06 |
| No lag female thyroid disease | 77 | 1.00 | 1.00 (0.54 to 1.87) | 1.02 (0.48 to 2.17) | 0.33 (0.08 to 1.26) | 0.97 | 0.35 |
| 10-year lag female thyroid disease | 77 | 1.00 | 0.79 (0.42 to 1.50) | 0.87 (0.37 to 2.02) | 0.23 (0.05 to 1.01) | 0.27 | 0.13 |
| No lag coronary heart disease | 380 | 1.00 | 1.03 (0.71 to 1.49) | 1.23 (0.84 to 1.78) | 1.03 (0.70 to 1.52) | 0.78 | 0.39 |
| 10-year lag coronary heart disease | 380 | 1.00 | 1.20 (0.82 to 1.75) | 1.06(0.71 to 1.58) | 0.93 (0.61 to 1.41) | 0.75 | 0.99 |
| No lag medicated hypertension | 1430 | 1.00 | 0.95 (0.81 to 1.11) | 0.97 (0.82 to 115) | 1.04 (0.87 to 1.25) | 0.95 | 0.99 |
| 10-year lag medicated hypertension | 1430 | 1.00 | 0.95 (0.81 to 0.98) | 0.91 (0.75 to 1.09) | 0.95 (0.77 to 1.16) | 0.54 | 0.12 |
| No lag medicated High cholesterol | 1298 | 1.00 | 1.11 (0.94 to 1.30) | 1.06 (0.89 to 1.27) | 1.05 (0.87 to 1.27) | 0.56 | 0.29 |
| 10-year lag medicated High cholesterol | 1298 | 1.00 | 0.93 (0.79 to 1.10) | 1.01 (0.84 to 1.22) | 0.96 (0.78 to 1.18) | 0.62 | 0.50 |
| No lag osteoarthritis | 196 | 1.00 | 0.88 (0.58 to 1.34) | 0.97 (0.71 to 1.54) | 0.97 (0.59 to 1.59) | 0.92 | 0.48 |
| 10-year lag osteoarthritis | 196 | 1.00 | 0.74 (0.49 to 1.10) | 0.56 (0.34 to 0.93) | 0.67 (0.39 to 1.14) | 0.13 | 0.15 |
| No lag stroke | 108 | 1.00 | 2.63 (1.06 to 6.56) | 2.13 (0.83 to 6.44) | 2.07 (0.81 to 5.29) | 0.35 | 0.17 |
| 10-year lag stroke | 108 | 1.00 | 1.48 (0.56 to 3.69) | 1.53 (0.60 to 3.89) | 1.33 (0.51 to 3.43) | 0.64 | 0.22 |
| No lag COPD | 146 | 1.00 | 1.20 (0.64 to 2.27) | 1.25 (0.65 to 2.37) | 1.13 (0.59 to 2.17) | 0.86 | 0.20 |
| 10-year lag COPD | 146 | 1.00 | 0.75 (0.38 to 1.48) | 1.16 (0.60 to 2.26) | 0.77 (0.38 to 1.57) | 0.97 | 0.51 |
| No lag medicated asthma | 82 | 1.00 | 0.76 (0.28 to 2.04) | 0.50 (0.17 to 1.49) | 0.53 (0.16 to 1.69) | 0.27 | 0.05 |
| 10-year lag medicated asthma | 82 | 1.00 | 0.48 (0.10 to 2.29) | 0.57 (0.11 to 2.93) | 0.52 (0.09 to 2.83) | 0.53 | 0.17 |
| No lag chronic kidney disease | 43 | 1.00 | 0.50 (0.13 to 1.81) | 0.69 (0.21 to 2.12) | 0.67 (0.15 to 3.05) | 0.92 | 0.22 |
| 10-year lag chronic Kidney disease | 43 | 1.00 | 1.32 (0.32 to 5.43) | 0.50 (0.11 to 2.34) | 0.67 (0.15 to 3.05) | 0.99 | 0.30 |
| No lag type 2 diabetes | 408 | 1.00 | 0.94 (0.67 to 1.32) | 1.08 (0.76 to 1.52) | 1.10 (0.77 to 1.57) | 0.66 | 0.27 |
| 10-year lag type 2 diabetes | 408 | 1.00 | 1.06 (0.75 to 1.49) | 1.10 (0.76 to 1.61) | 1.12 (0.76 to 1.66) | 0.94 | 0.05 |
*Some cases were lost to analysis due to missing covariates; hence these numbers are slightly lower than validated cases in table 2.
†Quartile cut-offs for the unlagged analyses were 3.03, 6.16, and 11.42 μg/mL-year and in the 10 year lagged analysis were 0.8, 3.44, 7.04 μg/mL-year (cumulative exposure, PFOA in serum). These were common across all diseases analysed, and were chosen by combining all diagnosed chronic disease cases and choosing cut points such that diagnosed cases were evenly divided across quartiles.
‡Trend test conducted using a weighted linear regression of log RRs on the midpoints of quartile categories, with the line constrained to pass through the origin, and weights equal to the inverse of the variance of the log RRs.
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; PFOA, perfluorooctanoic acid; RR, rate ratio.