Table IV.
Studies of cardiology, endocrinology, bone health, oncology and oxidative stress in adults
| Study | Contaminant | Outcome | Poulation | Results* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiology | ||||
| Valera (64) | PCBs and OCPs | Hypertension (≥140/90 mm Hg or taking anti-hypertensive medication) | Men and women ≥18 years of age (n=1,614) (participation rate: 52% from larger population) |
ΣDL-PCBs
Σnon-DL-PCBs
DDT
Aldrin, α-chlordane, γ-chlordane
Mirex
No association across all age categories |
| Valera (65) | Hg | Blood pressure, resting heart rate and pulse pressure | Men and women ≥18 years of age (n=313) (participation rate: 41%) |
Resting heart rate: Positive association Diastolic blood pressure: Inverse association No association with systolic blood pressure or pulse pressure |
| Nielsen (66) | Hg | Blood pressure | Men and women 30–69 years of age (n=1,861) (participation rate: 67.5%) |
Diastolic blood pressure: Inverse association in men (β=−0.04) Hypertension: Inverse association in men (OR=0.99, 95% CI: 0.98–0.99) No association in women |
| Valera (67) | Hg | Blood pressure | Men and women ≥18 years of age (n=732) (participation rate: 55%) |
Systolic blood pressure: Positive association (β=2.14, 95% CI: 0.94–3.33) Diastolic blood pressure: No association |
| Château-Degat (70) | PFOS | Plasma lipids | Men and women 18–74 years of age (n=723) (participation rate: 68%) |
Triacylglycerol: Inverse association in women (β=−0.0014) HDL-C: Positive association (β=0.0042 and 0.0016 for women and men respectively) Ratio TC/HDL-C: Inverse association (β=−0.0035) No association with LDL-C or non-HDL-C |
| Valera (68) | Hg | Blood pressure and cardiac autonomic activity | Men and women ≥40 years of age (n=280) (participation rate: 59%) |
SDANN: Inverse association (β=−0.086, 95% CI: −0.16 to −0.01) Systolic blood pressure: Positive association (β=4.77, 95% CI: 1.12–8.42) Pulse pressure: Positive association (β=3.40, 95% CI: 1.11–5.69) No association with diastolic blood pressure or other measures of cardiac autonomic activity |
| Luoma (69) | Cd | Blood pressure and arterial hypertensive disease | Reindeer herders 20–82 years of age in Arctic Finland (n=230) (participation rate: 14%) |
Systolic blood pressure: Positive association Diastolic blood pressure: No association |
| Endocrinology | ||||
| Jørgensen (71) | PCBs and OCPs | Glucose intolerance | Men and women (mean age 49 years) (n=692) (participation rate: 67%) |
PCBs and OCPs 2-hour insulin: Inverse association DL-PCBs and non-DL-PCBs HOMA-B: Inverse association. No association with mean fasting glucose, mean 2-hour glucose, or mean fasting insulin. No association with IGT or diabetes. |
| Dallaire (72) | PCBs, OCPs, PBDEs, PFOS and dioxin-like compounds | Thyroid function | Men and women ≥18 years of age (n=623) (participation rate: 50%) |
PCBs T3: Inverse association (β=−0.020) (inverse association also for PCB metabolites) TBG: Inverse association (β=−0.037) (inverse association also for PCB metabolites) HCB T3: Inverse association (β=−0.030) fT4: Inverse association (β=−0.017) TBG: Inverse association (β=−0.054) β-HCH T3: Inverse association (β=−0.028) TBG: Inverse association (β=−0.051) PFOS T3: Inverse association (β=−0.017) fT4: Positive association (β=0.014) TBG: Inverse association (β=−0.034) TSH: Inverse association (β=−0.102) No associations with p,p′-DDE or PBDEs after full adjustment for confounders |
| Bone health | ||||
| Paunescu (73) | DL-PCBs (evaluated as effects on AhR) | Bone strength | Women 35–72 years of age (n=194) | No association |
| Côté (74) | PCBs and OCPs | Bone ultrasound | Peri- and post-menopausal women 49–64 years of age (n=153) | PCB-156
PCB-153: No association |
| Oncology | ||||
| Bonefeld-Jorgensen (75) | PCBs, OCPs, PFCs and heavy metals | Breast cancer | Cases (n=31) and controls (n=115) | PCBs
|
PFCs
ΣPOPs
OCPs: No association Heavy metals: No association |
||||
| Rusiecki (76) | PCBs and OCPs | DNA methylation (Alu and LINE-1 assays) |
Mostly males 19–67 years of age (n=70) | ΣPCBs
p,p′-DDE, DDT, other pesticides
ΣPOPs
No association on LINE-1 assays |
| Other | ||||
| Bélanger (78) | PCBs and Hg | Oxidative stress (redox status of CoQ10 and vitamin E) | Men and women (majority women) (n=99) | ΣPCBs
Hg
No association with ubiquinol-10 or ubiquinone-10 and PCBs or Hg |
| Bélanger (77) | PCBs and Hg | Oxidative stress (plasma oxidized LDL-C, homocysteine, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glutathione) | Men and women (majority women) (n=99) | PCBs
Hg: No association |
AhR=aryl hydrocarbon receptor; Cd=cadmium; CI=confidence interval; DDE=dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene; DDT=dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane; DL-PCBs=dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls; DNA=deoxyribonucleic acid; fT4=free thyroxine; HCB=hexachlorobenzene; HCH=hexachlorocyclohexane; HDL-C=high density lipoprotein cholesterol; Hg=mercury; HOMA-B=homeostasis model assessment of beta cell function; IGT=impaired glucose tolerance; LDL-C=low density lipoprotein cholesterol; OCPs=organochlorine pesticides; OR=odds ratio; PBDEs=polybrominated diphenyl ethers; PCBs=polychlorinated biphenyls; PFCs=perfluorinated compounds; PFOS=perfluorooctanesulfonate; POPs=persistent organic pollutants; SDANN=standard deviation of the average RR intervals calculated over 5 minute periods; T3=triiodothyronine; TBG=thyroxine-binding globulin; TC=total cholesterol; TSH=thyroid-stimulating hormone.
Adjusted estimates are presented where available. Presented estimates are statistically significant at p≤0.05 level.