Research Says One Sneaky Culprit Could Increase Risk Of Multiple Sclerosis
There are a number of factors associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis, from smoking, to genetic variations, to vitamin D exposure. But according to new research published in the journal Nature Communications1, there's one more factor you might want to consider: forever chemicals in your drinking water.
Here's what they found, plus what you can do about it to lower your risk.
Connecting the dots between forever chemicals and multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that impacts nearly three million people worldwide. There is no cure, although treatments exist to help slow the progression of the disease.
For this study, researchers wanted to analyze the connection between exposure to forever chemicals (per- and polyfluorinated substances or "PFAS," and hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls or "OH-PCBs") and M.S. risk.
To do so, they tested for 24 variants of PFAS and seven byproducts of PCBs in the blood of 907 patients recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, along with 907 healthy control subjects.
And sure enough, participants who tested high for multiple compounds were seen more prevalently in the group with MS. "We saw that several individual substances, such as PFOS and two hydroxylated PCBs, were linked to an increased odds for MS," says lead study author Kim Kultima Ph.D. in a news release. "People with the highest concentrations of PFOS and PCBs had approximately twice as high odds of being diagnosed with MS, compared with those with the lowest concentrations," she adds.
What to do about it
The study authors note that forever chemicals are already associated with a higher risk for certain cancers. Plus, they're notorious endocrine disruptors and are linked to negative effects on the immune and nervous system, too.
Given that drinking water is one of the main ways we're exposed to PFAS, these findings suggest we might want to pay better attention to what we're sipping.
To that end, the EPA suggests that activated carbon filters2 are particularly useful for reducing PFAS, as well as reverse osmosis filters and ion exchange resin filters. In either case, make sure you're going for a high quality, tested filter that will remove as many impurities as possible.
Here's our roundup of the six best under-sink filters for removing forever chemicals!
The takeaway
While we can't always help being exposed to forever chemicals, our drinking water is definitely a simple place to start. Investing in a quality water filter seems to be the best bet for your overall health, and according to these findings, it could reduce your risk of MS as well.