Non–Dioxin-Like Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Risk of Endometriosis

Britton Trabert, Anneclaire J De Roos, Stephen M Schwartz, Ulrike Peters, Delia Scholes, Dana Boyd Barr, Dana B Barr, Victoria L Holt
Environmental health perspectives · 2010 · vol. 118(9) , pp. 1280–1285 · doi:10.1289/ehp.0901444 · PMID:20423815 · PMC2944090 · W2001703250
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 39 in-corpus citations
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This case-control study found that serum concentrations of noncoplanar PCBs were not associated with an increased risk of endometriosis among women in western Washington State.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis, a gynecologic disorder affecting 8-10% of reproductive-age women in the United States, is defined as the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus and is linked to pelvic pain and infertility. Environmental contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are hypothesized to contribute to endometriosis risk through effects on steroid hormones. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated serum concentrations of certain noncoplanar PCBs, which have no or only weak dioxin-like properties, as risk factors for endometriosis. METHODS: In a case-control study of Group Health enrollees in western Washington State, 20 PCB congeners were measured in serum from surgically confirmed endometriosis cases that were newly diagnosed between 1996 and 2001 (n = 251) and from female controls matched for age and reference year (n = 538). RESULTS: Summed and estrogenic PCB concentrations were not associated with endometriosis risk [summed: odds ratio (OR) = 1.3; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.8-2.2; estrogenic: OR = 1.1; 95% CI, 0.8-1.4]. Although several congener-specific ORs were statistically above or below the null (PCB 170: third quartile vs. lowest: OR = 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3-0.9; PCB 196: third quartile vs. lowest: OR = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.7; PCB 201: second vs. lowest: OR = 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3-0.8; third quartile vs. lowest: OR = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.7), there were no overall consistent patterns of endometriosis risk. CONCLUSIONS: Taken in context with other North American studies, our findings suggest that noncoplanar PCB concentrations consistent within the range of exposure currently observed in western Washington State do not contribute meaningfully to endometriosis risk.

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Condition tags

endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Polychlorinated Biphenyls Polychlorinated Biphenyls Adolescent Adult Endometriosis Female Humans Middle Aged Polychlorinated Biphenyls Young Adult

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