title: Polybrominated biphenyl exposure and benign breast disease in a cohort of US women.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Epidemic Intelligence Service, Epidemiology Program Office, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.forename: Heidi Michels
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Blanck
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naughton
authors.forename: Rebecca H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Alden K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: Paige E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Tolbert
authors.forename: Carol H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: Vicki S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Hertzberg
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls