P018 Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are significantly increased in patients with late-onset of ulcerative colitis

Abstract

Background

Environmental factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly late onset disease. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals with a long biological half-life that have been extensively used since the 1950s and have been proposed to interfere with the bile acid synthesis. Therefore, to investigate if late onset IBD correlates with higher PFAS levels, we measured serum levels of PFAS and bile acids in patients diagnosed with IBD later in life.

Methods

Serum samples were collected from patients diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (n = 20) and Crohn’s disease (n = 20) at the age of ≥55 years. Blood donors (n = 20) were used as healthy controls and were matched by gender and age. The levels of PFAS and bile acids were assessed by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer.

Results

The total amount of PFAS was significantly higher in patients with ulcerative colitis compared with healthy controls (p = 0.021) or patients with Crohn’s disease (p = 0.015). No difference was found in total PFAS levels between Crohn’s disease patients and healthy controls (p = 0.841). Seven out of 30 bile acids correlated to the total PFAS level.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that PFAS levels are increased in patients with late-onset of ulcerative colitis compared with Crohn’s disease patients and healthy controls. This finding indicates that PFAS might represent an environmental risk factor for ulcerative colitis. However, additional studies assessing the functional consequences of increased PFAS in late-onset ulcerative colitis are required to confirm this hypothesis.