Dataset Information

Organochlorine pesticides and risk of endometriosis: findings from a population-based case-control study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Endometriosis is considered an estrogen-dependent disease. Persistent environmental chemicals that exhibit hormonal properties, such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), may affect endometriosis risk.

Objective

We investigated endometriosis risk in relation to environmental exposure to OCPs.

Methods

We conducted the present analyses using data from the Women's Risk of Endometriosis (WREN) study, a population-based case-control study of endometriosis conducted among 18- to 49-year-old female enrollees of a large health care system in western Washington State. OCP concentrations were measured in sera from surgically confirmed endometriosis cases (n = 248) first diagnosed between 1996 and 2001 and from population-based controls (n = 538). We estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% CIs using unconditional logistic regression, adjusting for age, reference date year, serum lipids, education, race/ethnicity, smoking, and alcohol intake.

Results

Our data suggested increased endometriosis risk associated with serum concentrations of ?-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) (third vs. lowest quartile: OR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.0, 2.8; highest vs. lowest quartile OR = 1.3; 95% CI: 0.8, 2.4) and mirex (highest vs. lowest category: OR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0, 2.2). The association between serum ?-HCH concentrations and endometriosis was stronger in analyses restricting cases to those with ovarian endometriosis (third vs. lowest quartile: OR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.5, 5.2; highest vs. lowest quartile: OR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.1, 5.3).

Conclusions

In our case-control study of women enrolled in a large health care system in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, serum concentrations of ?-HCH and mirex were positively associated with endometriosis. Extensive past use of environmentally persistent OCPs in the United States or present use in other countries may affect the health of reproductive-age women.

SUBMITTER: Upson K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3855515 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Organochlorine pesticides and risk of endometriosis: findings from a population-based case-control study.

Upson Kristen K De Roos Anneclaire J AJ Thompson Mary Lou ML Sathyanarayana Sheela S Scholes Delia D Barr Dana Boyd DB Holt Victoria L VL

Environmental health perspectives 20131105 11-12

<h4>Background</h4>Endometriosis is considered an estrogen-dependent disease. Persistent environmental chemicals that exhibit hormonal properties, such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), may affect endometriosis risk.<h4>Objective</h4>We investigated endometriosis risk in relation to environmental exposure to OCPs.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted the present analyses using data from the Women's Risk of Endometriosis (WREN) study, a population-based case-control study of endometriosis conducted amo ...[more]

PMID: 24192044

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe effects of organochlorine pesticide (OCP) exposure on the development of human papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) are not well understood. A nested case-control study was conducted with data from the U.S. Department of Defense Serum Repository (DoDSR) cohort between 2000 and 2013 to assess associations of individual OCPs serum concentrations with PTC risk.MethodsThis study included 742 histologically confirmed PTC cases (341 females, 401 males) and 742 individually-matched controls with pre-diagnostic serum samples selected from the DoDSR. Associations between categories of lipid-corrected serum concentrations of seven OCPs and PTC risk were evaluated for classical PTC and follicular PTC using conditional logistic regression, adjusted for body mass index category and military branch to compute odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Effect modification by sex, birth cohort, and race was examined.ResultsThere was no evidence of associations between most of the OCPs and PTC, overall or stratified by histological subtype. Overall, there was no evidence of an association between hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and PTC, but stratified by histological subtype HCB was associated with significantly increased risk of classical PTC (third tertile above the limit of detection (LOD) vs. <LOD, OR = 1.61, 95% CI, 1.09, 2.38; p for trend = 0.05) and significantly decreased risk of follicular variant PTC (third tertile above the limit of detection (LOD) vs. <LOD, OR = 0.38, 95% CI, 0.16, 0.91; p for trend = 0.04). Further stratified by sex, risk of classical PTC was higher for females (third tertile above LOD vs. <LOD, OR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.23, 4.06; p-trend = 0.02) than for males (OR = 1.22, 95%CI: 0.72-2.08; p-trend = 0.56), though the test for interaction by sex was not statistically significant (p-interaction = 0.30). Similarly, β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCCH) was associated with a higher risk for classical PTC for women with concentrations ≥LOD versus <LOD (OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.07, 2.89), while the effects were null for men. There were no consistent trends when stratified by race or birth year. CONCLUSIONS: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified HCB and other OCPs we studied here as probable human carcinogens. Our findings of increased risks for classical PTC associated with increased concentrations of HCB and β-HCCH, which were stronger among females, should be replicated in future studies of other populations.

Project description:BackgroundPesticide exposure during susceptible windows and at certain doses are linked to numerous birth defects. Early experimental evidence suggests an association between active ingredients in pesticides and holoprosencephaly (HPE), the most common malformation of the forebrain in humans (1 in 250 embryos). No human studies to date have examined the association. This study investigated pesticides during multiple windows of exposure and fetal risk for HPE. It is hypothesized that pre-conception and early pregnancy, the time of brain development in utero, are the most critical windows of exposure.MethodsA questionnaire was developed for this retrospective case-control study to estimate household, occupational, and environmental pesticide exposures. Four windows of exposure were considered: preconception, early, mid and late pregnancy. Cases were identified through the National Human Genome Research Institute's ongoing clinical studies of HPE. Similarly, controls were identified as children with Williams-Beuren syndrome, a genetic syndrome also characterized by congenital malformations, but etiologically unrelated to HPE. We assessed for differences in odds of exposures to pesticides between cases and controls.ResultsFindings from 91 cases and 56 controls showed an increased risk for HPE with reports of maternal exposure during pregnancy to select pesticides including personal insect repellants (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.89, confidence interval (CI): 0.96-9.50) and insecticides and acaricides for pets (aOR 3.84, CI:1.04-16.32). Exposure to household pest control products during the preconception period or during pregnancy was associated with increased risk for HPE (aOR 2.60, OR: 0.84-8.68). No associations were found for occupational exposures to pesticides during pregnancy (aOR: 1.15, CI: 0.11-11.42), although exposure rates were low. Higher likelihood for HPE was also observed with residency next to an agricultural field (aOR 3.24, CI: 0.94-12.31).ConclusionsObservational findings are consistent with experimental evidence and suggest that exposure to personal, household, and agricultural pesticides during pregnancy may increase risk for HPE. Further investigations of gene by environment interactions are warranted.

Dataset Information

Organochlorine pesticides and risk of endometriosis: findings from a population-based case-control study.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Organochlorine pesticides and risk of endometriosis: findings from a population-based case-control study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets