{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T13:07:01Z","timestamp":1791205621632,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,4]],"date-time":"2025-08-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1754265600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["82204079"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82204079"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) possess immunosuppressive properties. However, their association with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk remains inconclusive across epidemiological studies. This study integrates population-based and mechanistic evidence to clarify the relationship between PFAS exposure and RA. We analyzed 8743 U.S. adults from the NHANES (2005\u20132018), assessing individual and mixed exposures to PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and PFHxS using multivariable logistic regression, Bayesian kernel machine regression, quantile g-computation, and weighted quantile sum models. Network toxicology and molecular docking were utilized to identify core targets mediating immune disruption. The results showed that elevated PFOA (OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.41\u20131.89), PFOS (OR = 1.41, 1.25\u20131.58), and PFNA (OR = 1.40, 1.20\u20131.63) levels significantly increased RA risk. Mixture analyses indicated a positive joint effect (WQS OR = 1.06, 1.02\u20131.10; qgcomp OR = 1.26, 1.16\u20131.38), with PFOA as the primary contributor. Stratified analyses revealed stronger effects in females (PFOA Q4 OR = 3.75, 2.36\u20135.97) and older adults (\u226560 years). Core targets included EGFR, SRC, TP53, and CTNNB1. PFAS mixtures increase RA risk, dominated by PFOA and modulated by sex\/age. These findings help reconcile prior contradictions by identifying key molecular targets and vulnerable subpopulations, supporting regulatory attention to PFAS mixture exposure.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26157518","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,6]],"date-time":"2025-08-06T07:45:11Z","timestamp":1754466311000},"page":"7518","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Perfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Mixtures Drive Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk Through Immunosuppression: Integrating Epidemiology and Mechanistic Evidence"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Yanming","family":"Lv","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Toxicological Science, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chunlong","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Toxicological Science, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yi","family":"Xiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Toxicological Science, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenhao","family":"Fu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Toxicological Science, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiaqi","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Toxicological Science, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-3656-2632","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xueting","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Toxicological Science, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112153","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fct.2021.112153","article-title":"Maternal Preconception PFOS Exposure of Drosophila Melanogaster Alters Reproductive Capacity, Development, Morphology and Nutrient Regulation","volume":"151","author":"Kim","year":"2021","journal-title":"Food Chem. 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