Inguinal hernias, endometriosis, and other adverse outcomes in rhesus monkeys following lead exposure

Krugner-Higby L, Lisa Krugner‐Higby, Lisa Krugner-Higby, Rosenstein A, Adam Rosenstein, Lori Handschke, Handschke L, Luck M, Melissa L. Luck, Melissa Luck, Nellie K Laughlin, Laughlin NK, Mahvi D, David A. Mahvi, David Mahvi, Annette Gendron, Gendron A
Neurotoxicology and teratology · 2003 · vol. 25(5) , pp. 561–570 · doi:10.1016/s0892-0362(03)00076-x · PMID:12972069 · W1989646105
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 11 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

This paper examines the incidence of inguinal hernias, endometriosis, and other adverse outcomes in rhesus monkeys after exposure to lead.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

The Harlow Center for Biological Psychology (HCBP) has a cohort of rhesus monkeys that were exposed to low concentrations of lead acetate in utero or as infants. The lead-exposed animals have been followed for 19 years and have developed four cases of inguinal hernia (males), three cases of endometriosis (females), and one case of immunoblastic lymphoma (male). Retrospective analysis of the data from the original lead-exposed cohort indicates that there is a significant association between lead exposure and the development of inguinal hernia (P=.04). Endometriosis was not significantly associated with lead exposure (P=.36). A case control study also was done to determine the significance of neonatal lead exposure as a risk factor for the development of inguinal hernia and endometriosis. The risk of developing inguinal hernia was significantly increased in lead-exposed animals (OR=20.0, P=.009). The association between endometriosis and lead exposure was also strong (OR=10.13, P<.001). No unmatched variables were associated with inguinal hernia, including body weight, history of diarrhea, constipation, or intussusception. No unmatched variables were highly associated with endometriosis, including body weight, age at first parity, and history of stillbirths. However, parity and the number of stillbirths were associated with lead exposure (P=.011 and P=.041, respectively). There was an association between endometriosis and a history of hysterotomy (OR=2.09) but it was not statistically significant (P=.38). No other cases of lymphoma in unexposed animals were identified using HCBP animal health records. These data indicate that early lead-exposed rhesus monkeys may develop illnesses later in life, especially inguinal hernia and endometriosis, more frequently than unexposed monkeys. Studies of human populations with early lead exposure are warranted to determine their incidence of inguinal hernia, endometriosis, and hematologic neoplasia.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Hernia, Inguinal Lead Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects Animals Animals, Newborn Case-Control Studies Cohort Studies Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Follow-Up Studies Hernia, Inguinal Hernia, Inguinal Hernia, Inguinal Lead Lead Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Immunoblastic Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Immunoblastic Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Immunoblastic

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (49)

Cited by (11)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-07-29T06:27:48.050232+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:12:44.121522+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK