Hannah Gardener, Sc.D., an epidemiologist and research assistant professor in neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has been thinking about studying the effect of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on dementia risk for a decade.
“I’ve been really passionate about the impacts of environmental toxicants, plastic exposures and, in particular, PFAS on brain health for over 15 years now,” said Dr. Gardener.
PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” have been a popular topic for the past decade. But existing research has focused primarily on impacts of the chemicals on early development.
“The health effects of PFAS exposure on multiple cancers, liver damage, reproduction, immune function, cardiometabolic disease and infant development have been well-evidenced, but there’s not a lot known about the impacts of PFAS on adult brain health,” she said. “The attention has been focused primarily on neurodevelopment and brain health in infants and children, and very little on how adult PFAS exposure impacts adult brains, especially cognitive changes late in life.”
Dr. Gardener and her team published a literature review in Alzheimer’s and Dementia describing the existing research and highlighting the gap in knowledge regarding how exposure to PFAS in adulthood affects cognition and dementia risk. She also laid out her plans, supported by a five-year grant from the National Institutes on Aging, to tease apart the influence of PFAS exposure later in life on cognitive health.
