Serum PCBs, p,p'-DDE and HCB predict thyroid hormone levels in men

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and some organochlorine pesticides, which continue to be measurable in a high proportion of blood samples from the general population, have been found to alter thyroid hormone levels in animals and humans. However, studies of these relationships in adult men are limited and results across studies have been inconsistent. In the present study, we measured serum levels of 57 PCB congeners, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p(')-DDE, a stable metabolite of DDT), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), as well as free T(4), total T(3), and TSH, in 341 adult men recruited from an infertility clinic from 2000 to 2003. In multivariate linear regression, there were positive associations between p,p(')-DDE and both free T(4) and total T(3), and an inverse association between p,p(')-DDE and TSH. Conversely, for PCBs there was only a suggestive inverse association between PCB 153 and total T(3) when potential confounding variables were considered. However, when results were additionally adjusted for p,p(')-DDE, inverse associations with T(3) were significant for PCB 138, PCB 153, sum of PCBs and three different PCB groupings, and HCB, while the positive associations between p,p(')-DDE and T(3) also remained. In conclusion, serum concentrations of PCBs, p,p(')-DDE, and HCB were associated with circulating thyroid hormone levels in adult men.

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CYP, cytochrome P450; DDT, 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane; HCB, hexachlorobenzene; MDL, method detection limit; NHANES, national health and nutrition examination survey: p,p(')-DDE, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene; PCB, polychlorinated biphenyl; T(3), triiodothyronine; T(4), thryoxine; TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone (thyrotrophin); US, United States.

Figure 1

Regression coefficients (diamonds) and 95% confidence intervals for a change in total T₃ associated with increasing quintiles of selected PCBs (PCB 153 and ΣPCB) or HCB in serum. Adjusted for serum lipids, log-transformed p,p′-DDE, age, BMI, smoking and time of blood draw.

Figure 2

Regression coefficients (diamonds) and 95% confidence intervals for a change in free T₄ or total T₃ associated with increasing quintiles of serum p,p′-DDE. Adjusted for serum lipids, age, BMI, smoking and time of blood draw.