Dataset Information

Persistent environmental pollutants and couple fecundity: the LIFE study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Evidence suggesting that persistent environmental pollutants may be reproductive toxicants underscores the need for prospective studies of couples for whom exposures are measured.

Objectives

We examined the relationship between selected persistent pollutants and couple fecundity as measured by time to pregnancy.

Methods

A cohort of 501 couples who discontinued contraception to become pregnant was prospectively followed for 12 months of trying to conceive or until a human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) test confirmed pregnancy. Couples completed daily journals on lifestyle and provided biospecimens for the quantification of 9 organochlorine pesticides, 1 polybrominated biphenyl, 10 polybrominated diphenyl ethers, 36 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and 7 perfluorochemicals (PFCs) in serum. Using Cox models for discrete time, we estimated fecundability odds ratios (FORs) and 95% CIs separately for each partner's concentrations adjusting for age, body mass index, serum cotinine, serum lipids (except for PFCs), and study site (Michigan or Texas); sensitivity models were further adjusted for left truncation or time off of contraception (? 2 months) before enrollment.

Results

The adjusted reduction in fecundability associated with standard deviation increases in log-transformed serum concentrations ranged between 18% and 21% for PCB congeners 118, 167, 209, and perfluorooctane sulfonamide in females; and between 17% and 29% for p,p´-DDE and PCB congeners 138, 156, 157, 167, 170, 172, and 209 in males. The strongest associations were observed for PCB 167 (FOR 0.79; 95% CI: 0.64, 0.97) in females and PCB 138 (FOR = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.52, 0.98) in males.

Conclusions

In this couple-based prospective cohort study with preconception enrollment and quantification of exposures in both female and male partners, we observed that a subset of persistent environmental chemicals were associated with reduced fecundity.

SUBMITTER: Buck Louis GM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3569685 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Persistent environmental pollutants and couple fecundity: the LIFE study.

Buck Louis Germaine M GM Sundaram Rajeshwari R Schisterman Enrique F EF Sweeney Anne M AM Lynch Courtney D CD Gore-Langton Robert E RE Maisog José J Kim Sungduk S Chen Zhen Z Barr Dana B DB

Environmental health perspectives 20121114 2

<h4>Background</h4>Evidence suggesting that persistent environmental pollutants may be reproductive toxicants underscores the need for prospective studies of couples for whom exposures are measured.<h4>Objectives</h4>We examined the relationship between selected persistent pollutants and couple fecundity as measured by time to pregnancy.<h4>Methods</h4>A cohort of 501 couples who discontinued contraception to become pregnant was prospectively followed for 12 months of trying to conceive or until ...[more]

PMID: 23151773

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundDespite increasing regulation, exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) remains a serious public health concern due to their accumulation in the environment and ability to biomagnify up the food chain. POPs are associated with endocrine-disrupting effects including adverse reproductive outcomes that could affect fecundability, i.e. the capacity to conceive a pregnancy, quantified as time to pregnancy (TTP).Objective and rationaleResults of epidemiologic studies that examine the impact of various chemical classes of POPs on TTP have not been synthesised. We undertook a systematic review to summarise the strength of evidence for associations of four common groups of POPs with couple fecundability and to identify gaps and limitations in the literature in order to inform policy decisions and future research.Search methodsWe performed an electronic search of literature published between 1 January 2007 and 6 August 2019 in MEDLINE, EMBASE.com, Global Health, DART/TOXLINE and POPLINE. We included empirical research papers that examined human exposure to organochlorine (OC) pesticides, brominated flame retardants, polychlorinated organic compounds and/or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and considered TTP or fecundability as an outcome. Standardised forms for screening, data extraction and study quality were developed using DistillerSR software, and all reviews were completed in duplicate. We used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to assess risk of bias and devised additional quality metrics based on specific methodological features of fecundability studies.OutcomesThe search returned 4573 articles, and 28 papers from 19 different studies met inclusion criteria. Among them, four studies measured TTP prospectively, three had data on participants' prenatal exposure, three examined associations in both male and female partners and one focused exclusively on males. Analyses varied widely in terms of exposure characterisation, precluding a meta-analytic approach. Evidence was strongest for adverse associations of female exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls with TTP, with some additional support for associations of female exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers and PFAS with longer TTP. Our review provided little or no support for associations between female exposure to OC pesticides or male exposure to any of the POP groups and TTP.Wider implicationsEvidence suggests that female exposure to at least some POPs may reduce fecundability. Although many of these chemicals are no longer in production, they are still detectable in human biosamples because of their persistence in the environment. Replacement chemicals that are being introduced as older ones are restricted may have similar reproductive consequences. Future studies should examine these newer POPs, assess interactions between POPs and other chemical and non-chemical exposures, investigate how POPs are distributed in and metabolised by the human body and focus on populations that may be disproportionately exposed.

Project description:The incidence of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases worldwide has dramatically increased over the last decades. Although the aetiology remains uncertain, evidence is now growing that exposure to persistent organic pollutants during sensitive neurodevelopmental periods such as early life may be a strong risk factor, predisposing the individual to disease development later in life. Epidemiological studies have associated environmentally persistent organic pollutant exposure to brain disorders including neuropathies, cognitive, motor, and sensory impairments; neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In many ways, this expands the classical "Developmental Origins of Health and Disease" paradigm to include exposure to pollutants. This model has been refined over the years to give the current "three-hit" model that considers the individual's genetic factors as a first "hit." It has an immediate interaction with the early-life exposome (including persistent organic pollutants) that can be considered to be a second "hit." Together, these first two "hits" produce a quiescent or latent phenotype, most probably encoded in the epigenome, which has become susceptible to a third environmental "hit" in later life. It is only after the third "hit" that the increased risk of disease symptoms is crystallised. However, if the individual is exposed to a different environment in later life, they would be expected to remain healthy. In this review, we examine the effect of exposure to persistent organic pollutants and particulate matters in early life and the relationship to subsequent neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. The roles of those environmental factors which may affect epigenetic DNA methylation and therefore influence normal neurodevelopment are then evaluated.

Dataset Information

Persistent environmental pollutants and couple fecundity: the LIFE study.

Background

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Persistent environmental pollutants and couple fecundity: the LIFE study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets