Table 3.
Pearson’s correlation between log-transformed blood dioxins (in pg TEQ/g lipid) and health outcomes, SEDOCCH 2011–2016
| Variables | Total TEQ with ‘zero’ substituted for dioxin congeners < LOD | Total TEQ with dioxins imputed using PMM | Total TEQ with dioxins imputed using MICE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| r | p value | r | p value | r | p value | |
| Age (years) | 0.443 | < 0.001 | 0.556 | < 0.001 | 0.501 | < 0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 0.194 | < 0.001 | 0.150 | < 0.001 | 0.160 | < 0.001 |
| Abdominal circumference (cm) | 0.164 | 0.001 | 0.142 | 0.001 | 0.139 | 0.001 |
| Number of cigarettes smoked per day* | 0.017 | 0.701 | 0.064 | 0.157 | 0.044 | 0.330 |
| HbA1c (NGSP value, %)* | 0.136 | 0.006 | 0.198 | < 0.001 | 0.192 | < 0.001 |
| Blood glucose (mg/dL) | 0.232 | < 0.001 | 0.272 | < 0.001 | 0.264 | < 0.001 |
| Insulin (μU/mL) | − 0.009 | 0.827 | − 0.040 | 0.373 | − 0.031 | 0.482 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 0.202 | < 0.001 | 0.198 | < 0.001 | 0.188 | < 0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | − 0.080 | 0.074 | − 0.088 | 0.051 | − 0.082 | 0.067 |
| Free T3 (pg/mL) | − 0.099 | 0.028 | − 0.098 | 0.029 | − 0.095 | 0.034 |
| Blood urea nitrogen (mg/dL) | 0.093 | 0.038 | 0.114 | 0.011 | 0.112 | 0.013 |
| Blood creatinine (mg/dL)c | − 0.030 | 0.497 | − 0.046 | 0.309 | − 0.040 | 0.366 |
| AST (IU/L) | 0.169 | < 0.001 | 0.155 | < 0.001 | 0.166 | < 0.001 |
| ALT (IU/L) | 0.128 | 0.004 | 0.100 | 0.025 | 0.111 | 0.013 |
| GGT (IU/L) | 0.151 | < 0.001 | 0.117 | < 0.009 | 0.123 | 0.006 |
| DGLA (μg/mL) | − 0.131 | 0.003 | − 0.132 | 0.003 | − 0.145 | 0.001 |
| AA (μg/mL) | − 0.024 | 0.584 | − 0.033 | 0.456 | − 0.038 | 0.398 |
| EPA (μg/mL) | 0.452 | < 0.001 | 0.473 | < 0.001 | 0.463 | < 0.001 |
| DHA (μg/mL) | 0.440 | < 0.001 | 0.441 | < 0.001 | 0.435 | < 0.001 |
| Dietary dioxin intake (pg TEQ/kg/day)* | 0.371 | < 0.001 | 0.367 | < 0.001 | 0.387 | < 0.001 |
All variables were log-transformed, except age and the number of cigarettes smoked per day
SEDOCCH survey on the exposure to dioxins and other chemical compounds in humans, PCDDs polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins, PCDFs polychlorinated dibenzofurans, Co-PCBs coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls, TEQ toxicity equivalent, BMI body mass index, HbA1c haemoglobin A1c, NGSP National Glycohemoglobin Standardisation Programme, HDL high-density lipoprotein, T3 triiodothyronine, AST aspartate aminotransferase, ALT alanine aminotransferase, GGT gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, DGLA dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid, AA arachidonic acid, EPA eicosapentaenoic acid, DHA docosahexaenoic acid, PMM predictive mean matching, MICE multiple chained equations
*N = 490, except for HbA1c (n = 404), number of cigarettes smoked per day (n = 485) and dietary dioxin intake (n = 90). Missing data of covariates were not imputed