Liver disease is typically linked to alcohol consumption, obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol, or hepatitis B and C.
Now, it’s associated with a chemical that could be in your home.
A recent study published in the scientific journal Liver International found that participants with measurable levels of tetrachloroethylene, aka perchloroethylene or PCE, in their blood were about three times more likely to have significant liver fibrosis — a serious buildup of scar tissue that can progress to cancer, liver failure or death.
PCE is a solvent widely used in dry cleaning and found in certain household products like adhesives for arts and crafts, spot cleaners and stainless steel polish.
Researchers analyzed three years of medical data on U.S. adults aged 20 and older and found that roughly 7% had detectable PCE in their blood.
And the more PCE detected, the higher the chances of substantial scarring in the liver.
For every increase of 1 nanogram per milliliter of blood, there was a five-fold increase in chances of significant liver fibrosis, even after accounting for other factors that might influence someone’s chances of fibrosis, including age, sex, race, ethnicity and education level. (For reference, 1 nanogram is one-billionth of a gram.)
Notably, when PCE was present in participants, common culprits of liver disease — like alcohol — didn’t seem to be the drivers of advanced scarring.
“Patients will ask, how can I have liver disease if I don’t drink and I don’t have any of the health conditions typically associated with liver disease, and the answer may be PCE exposure,” says the study’s lead author — Dr. Brian P. Lee, a liver specialist at Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California — in a summary of the findings.
The study also found that higher-income households appeared more likely to have exposure. This could be because they use dry-cleaning services more often.
Workers in dry-cleaning facilities may also face elevated occupational risks due to prolonged contact.
The dangers are already so well-known that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a 10-year phaseout of PCE in dry cleaning and tightened controls on other uses, but the chemical could persist in other applications or in countries without similar rules.
If you have regular exposure to PCE, ask your health care provider whether liver fibrosis screening is appropriate.
“If more people with PCE exposure are screened for liver fibrosis, the disease can be caught earlier and patients may have a better chance of recovering their liver function,” Lee says.
For more on how things in your home could be making you sick, see “8 Things in Your House That Could Be Making You Sick.”
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