First PFAS "Forever Chemicals" Consumer-Initiated Blood Test With Physician Consult Launches on questhealth.com

• Directed at individuals who may be at risk of elevated PFAS exposure, the new test detects and measures PFAS identified by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
• Organizations interested in workforce, community, and research population testing may also access the test

SECAUCUS, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / March 4, 2024 / Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX), the world's leader in diagnostic information services, announced the availability of the first consumer-initiated, physician-ordered blood-draw test for PFAS chemicals with the option to confer over the phone with a physician about the results.

Available at questhealth.com, the new test, PFAS (Forever Chemicals) Test Panel, is performed by Quest Diagnostics to identify the level of potentially harmful chemicals called per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) - also known as "forever chemicals" because they can accumulate and linger in the environment and body.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health effects potentially associated with PFAS exposure include increases in cholesterol levels, decreases in birth weight, lower antibody response to vaccines, kidney and testicular cancer, pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia, and changes in liver enzymes.

"Scientists and the general public are increasingly aware that PFAS may be dangerous to human health, but access to quality, convenient testing to assess exposure is limited," said Jack Kain, PharmD, director and medical science liaison of Drug Monitoring and Toxicology, Quest Diagnostics. "Our PFAS blood test is based on the latest science and aligns with several facets of new CDC guidance as well as recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Not everyone needs a PFAS test, but people at high risk of elevated exposure may benefit from greater access to the insights provided by this novel test."

Testing may be right for people who likely have had elevated exposure to PFAS. These may include people who have been exposed to PFAS while on the job, such as firefighters, or who used a water supply near a commercial or industrial location, as well as those living near a facility that manufactures fluorochemicals or areas of documented PFAS environmental contamination.

The new test from Quest features several unique innovations. It is the first PFAS blood test available as a consumer-initiated test with physician consult to report a sum of PFAS chemicals based on level of health risks identified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The physician consultation, available to any individual who purchases the test, involves a telephone discussion between the individual and a third-party licensed physician about the results. In addition to providing personalized results, each easy-to-read test report includes information on ways to reduce exposure risk and can be shared with a personal physician.