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. 2017 Sep 26;125(9):097020. doi: 10.1289/EHP1302

Table 4.

Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the association between polybrominated biphenyl (PBB)-153, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-118 and ΣPCB (nanograms/milliliter) and thyroid disease among Michigan females, 2004–2015.

Exposure Totalb All thyroid diseasea Hypothyroidism
n (%)c aOR (95% CI) n (%)d aOR (95% CI)
PBB-153          
 PBB-153 ln-transformed (ΔIQR=0.43ng/mL)e,f 447 105 (23.5) 1.12 (0.83, 1.52) 49 (11.8) 1.35 (0.86, 2.13)
 PBB-153 Q1 (<LOD0.03ng/mL) 100 12 (12.0) 1.00 (Reference) 8 (8.0) 1.00 (Reference)
 PBB-153 Q2 (>0.030.16ng/mL) 91 22 (24.2) 1.53 (0.63, 3.76) 9 (10.6) 1.22 (0.37, 4.03)
 PBB-153 Q3 (>0.160.30ng/mL) 88 23 (26.1) 1.30 (0.49, 3.45) 8 (10.3) 1.08 (0.32, 3.64)
 PBB-153 Q4 (>0.300.63ng/mL) 92 31 (33.7) 2.89 (1.11, 7.49) 14 (17.1) 3.43 (1.08, 10.90)
 PBB-153 Q5 (>0.63128(maximum)ng/mL) 87 19 (21.8) 1.44 (0.53, 3.94) 11 (13.6) 2.19 (0.67, 7.23)
PCB-118          
 PCB-118 ln-transformed (ΔIQR=0.07ng/mL)e 378 107 (28.3) 1.20 (0.89, 1.63) 48 (14.1) 1.39 (0.90, 2.13)
 PCB-118 Q1 (<LOD<0.02ng/mL) 80 15 (18.8) 1.00 (Reference) 10 (12.7) 1.00 (Reference)
 PCB-118 Q2 (0.02<0.05ng/mL) 79 20 (25.3) 1.13 (0.48, 2.66) 9 (11.8) 0.72 (0.25, 2.05)
 PCB-118 Q3 (0.05<0.08ng/mL) 79 19 (24.1) 0.95 (0.40, 2.25) 9 (12.5) 0.69 (0.26, 1.87)
 PCB-118 Q4 0.08<0.13ng/mL) 80 25 (31.3) 1.19 (0.52, 2.73) 11 (15.9) 0.98 (0.37, 2.62)
 PCB-118 Q5 (0.130.89(maximum)ng/mL) 75 31 (41.3) 1.39 (0.59, 3.27) 11 (18.3) 1.59 (0.57, 4.43)
ΣPCB (di-ortho)g          
PCB ln-transformed (ΔIQR=0.74ng/mL)e 455 113 (24.8) 1.13 (0.77, 1.68) 52 (12.4) 1.46 (0.89, 2.40)
PCB Q1 (0.03<0.19ng/mL) 96 16 (16.7) 1.00 (Reference) 10 (10.4) 1.00 (Reference)
PCB Q2 (0.19<0.41ng/mL) 94 15 (16.0) 0.77 (0.33, 1.80) 5 (5.5) 0.37 (0.11, 1.32)
PCB Q3 (0.41<0.68ng/mL) 97 26 (26.8) 1.02 (0.46, 2.25) 15 (16.9) 1.20 (0.49, 2.94)
PCB Q4 (0.68<1.11ng/mL) 96 25 (26.0) 0.80 (0.36, 1.80) 9 (10.6) 0.59 (0.22, 1.57)
PCB Q5 (1.115.95(maximum)ng/mL) 95 36 (37.9) 1.22 (0.56, 2.68) 16 (20.0) 1.70 (0.69, 4.15)

Note: IQR, interquartile range; LOD, limit of detection; Q1–Q5, quintiles 1 through 5. Models for PBB-153 and ΣPCB (di-ortho) control for lipids, age, study phase, and smoking status; models for PCB-118 do not control for study phase because all samples from Phase 1 were not reportable owing to instrumentation error [see Tables S4 and S5 for information on individual PCB congeners (PCB-138, 153, and 180).]

a

Includes those who specified physician-diagnosed thyroid disease (n=107) and those who had thyroid hormone concentrations outside clinically normal ranges (n=6); includes 10 hyperthyroid, 52 hypothyroid, 14 other types, and 37 type not specified.

b

PBB-153 analyses exclude 8 women who were diagnosed with thyroid disease before the contamination event; PCB-118 analyses exclude 88 women (89 samples) who had missing values owing to unstable retention time on laboratory instrument; ΣPCB (di-ortho) analyses include all observations.

c

30 women participated multiple times, so cell counts may not sum to total.

d

Hypothyroidism analyses exclude 37 observations owing to lack of information on thyroid disease type (32 in PBB-153 model); these are excluded from denominator of percent calculations.

e

All IQRs and quintiles calculated among women only.

f

PBB-153 concentrations below the LOD were imputed using a distribution-based multiple imputation approach.

g

PCB-138+PCB-153+PCB-180.