Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), manufactured chemicals used in products such as food packaging and cosmetics, can lead to reproductive problems, increased cancer risk and other health issues.
<p style="text-align:start">In one of the first longitudinal studies of its kind, new USC research shows a link between exposure to PFAS and decreased bone mineral density in Hispanic teens and young adults. The researchers studied 304 Hispanic adolescents from the Study of Latino Adolescents at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, collecting blood samples to measure PFAS levels and dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans to measure bone density, then followed up after about one and a half years to check for a change over time. For each doubling of baseline perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), one type of PFAS, participants had an average decrease in bone mineral density of .003 g/cm<sup>2</sup> per year at follow-up. They also studied 137 young adults, who were 58.4% Hispanic from the Southern California Children's Health Study. When baseline levels of PFOS doubled, participants had an average of .032 g/cm<sup>2 
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