by Cristiano Colalto
10 MAY – Dear Director,
I would like to draw the attention of your attentive readers to a recent study by the University of Padua conducted by prof. Annibale Biggeri published in the international journal Environmental Health on 16 April 2024, which collected data on almost 60,000 deaths between 1980 and 2018 in a population cohort chosen with particular meticulousness. The importance of the data stratification method and of the choice to include the subjects based on birth, residence and death criteria that took into consideration the red zone of contamination, represents the central fulcrum of the external validity of the data generated and the results that emerged in the publication. It is also important to note that the internal validity of the study is guaranteed by the data obtained from public monitoring bodies and registers, including the Statistics Service (STAT) of the ISS which confirms itself as an excellent public research tool. The control population, against which the data were compared, was chosen with incontrovertible scientific criteria, with internationally recognized inclusion criteria and to guarantee the robustness of the results.
This study demonstrates the incontrovertible causal link between exposure to Perfluorinated Alkylated Substances (PFAS) present as environmental contaminants in the “red zone” area between the provinces of Verona, Vicenza and Padua and the significant increase in mortality for cardiovascular and neoplastic diseases (testicular cancer and renal carcinoma). Not only that, in the interpretation of the data, confirmation of information already present in the literature emerges: a protective effect was observed in women of childbearing age. However, this phenomenon could be attributed to the transfer, already widely documented in scientific literature, of PFAS from maternal blood to the fetus during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as to the consequent decrease in PFAS levels in mothers but with accumulation in the placenta. This accumulation appears to be the main mechanism underlying exposure to contaminants early in life according to a 2022 Dutch study by Prof. van Beijsterveldt of the Erasmus University Medical Center /Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam.
It was not the subject of the research led by the Patavina University, but it is noteworthy that continuous exposure to these substances early in life has been associated with the possible onset of symptoms of ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). of attention/hyperactivity) according to an epidemiological study by Prof Inhyang Kim of the Hanyang University Medical Center in Seoul in 2023, confirming other epidemiological studies of prenatal exposure carried out previously by other authors. Furthermore, the neurotoxicity of these molecules is already known in the preclinical field thanks to the Zebrafish experimental model, characterized by a high predictability for ADHD and for effects in general in the central nervous system. These translational research models undoubtedly constitute a basis of hypotheses on which to build new epidemiological studies, also for the Veneto.
I would like to bring to the attention of your readers that overseas the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency of the United States) has already allocated 1 billion dollars to address the problem of contamination by implementing a road map strategy. Note that these substances are called “forever chemicals” given the persistence of these contaminants in the environment and consequently in humans. In light of these data, masterfully collected and organized by Patavini researchers, I hope that there is a strong awareness of the epidemiological emergency on the part of decision-makers, at every level, so that there are no more excuses, delays and postponements and that action can be taken as soon as possible, a national intervention and prevention strategy that puts the person, motherhood, childhood and the environment at the center. Art. 32: The Republic protects health as a fundamental right of the individual and interest of the community.
Cristiano Colalto
May 10, 2024
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