Polybrominated biphenyl exposure and benign breast disease in a cohort of US women.
OBJECTIVE
We examined the relation between serum polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) levels and the risk of benign breast disease in a cohort of Michigan women unintentionally exposed to PBBs in 1973 and interviewed in 1997.


METHODS
We used extended Cox models to generate adjusted hazard ratios; models included polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and risk factors for benign breast disease reported in the literature.


RESULTS
Two hundred fourteen (23%) of 951 women reported benign breast disease diagnosed by a physician. Compared with women with low PBB exposure, benign breast disease was not reported more frequently among those with moderate (>1-12 parts per billion [ppb]), (odds ratio [OR] 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.80-1.45), or high (>12 ppb), (OR 0.79, 95% CI = 0.46-1.38) PBB exposure. PCB exposure was also not associated with self-reported physician-diagnosed benign breast disease. Age, smoking, and annual number of health-care provider visits were significantly associated with benign breast disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Our analysis did not demonstrate an association between serum PBB level and self- reported physician-diagnosed benign breast disease. We did observe an increased risk of benign breast disease for women who smoked, an association that has not been consistently found in previous studies.
Kaiser
Reinhard
R
Epidemic Intelligence Service, Epidemiology Program Office, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Marcus
Michele
M
Blanck
Heidi Michels
HM
Naughton
Mary
M
Zhang
Rebecca H
RH
Henderson
Alden K
AK
Tolbert
Paige E
PE
Rubin
Carol H
CH
Hertzberg
Vicki S
VS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D000821:Animal Feed; D001941:Breast Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004340:Drug Contamination; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls