Some persistent organic pollutants linked to higher risk of Multiple Sclerosis
03 March 2025
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are chemicals found among others in paint, printing inks, lubricants, and pesticides. They are present in the environment and can turn into hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) in the human body. A study in Sweden, published by Nature, has found that these are linked to a higher risk of developing Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
The study compared populations of people with MS to a control group using the database of the Swedish register of Multiple Sclerosis. 18 years of data were compared, looking at PFAS — also known as “forever chemicals” — and OH-PCBs. The latter were found to increase the probability of developing MS.
Conversely, PFAS showed an inverse association with diseases progression and with the worsening of disability resulting from Multiple Sclerosis.
This is an important contribution revealing valuable insights into PFAS and OH-PCBs with an important autoimmune disease.
