# Common Household Chemical Linked to Liver Disease
Chemicals used in daily life for laundry and cleaning have been found to be toxic and cause liver disease. Perchlorethylene (PCE) is used as a dry cleaning detergent and stain remover in kitchens. It is indeed also called tetrachloroethylene (TCE), its chemical name.
A study conducted by the Keck school of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) found that people exposed to PCE had a three-fold increased risk of liver disease, such as liver fibrosis, compared to people not exposed to PCE. Consequently, PCE was designated as the fourth potential cause of liver disease, including liver fibrosis, following alcohol, fat accumulation, and hepatitis B and C viruses. The results of this study raise alarm as PCE is widely used in everyday life, including as a stainless steel polish and as a glue used for bonding.
The greater the exposure, the more likely it is indeed to develop liver fibrosis.
USC Keck School of Medicine’s research results where published in the November issue of the academic journal ‘Liver International’ (Volume 14, Number 11). The title is ‘TCE Is Associated With Presence of Meaningful Liver Fibrosis: A National Cross-Sectional Study in US Adults.’
The paper found that exposure to PCE was associated with a three-fold higher risk of developing serious liver damage, even in the absence of risk factors such as alcohol or obesity. The results of the study showed that the higher the dose of PCE exposure, the higher the likelihood of developing liver fibrosis, clearly showing a statistical correlation. brian lee, a hepatologist and liver transplant surgeon at Keck School of Medicine, participated as the lead author of the paper.
The results of the study showed that the higher the income, the more likely it was that PCE would be detected in the blood. This might potentially be related to dry cleaning service utilization, but further research appears to be needed to confirm this. The researchers pointed out that a further problem is the health of workers in the dry cleaning industry who can be directly exposed to PCE for a long period of time.
The research team revealed that PCE was detected in about 7% of blood samples from participants aged 20 or older collected from 2017 to 2020 in the U.S. National health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The research team estimated that PCE may be one of the causes of liver fibrosis in people who do not drink alcohol and have no detectable hepatitis virus.
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