Urinary perchlorate and thyroid hormone levels in adolescent and adult men and women living in the United States.
BACKGROUND
Perchlorate is commonly found in the environment and known to inhibit thyroid function at high doses. Assessing the potential effect of low-level exposure to perchlorate on thyroid function is an area of ongoing research.


OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the potential relationship between urinary levels of perchlorate and serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and total thyroxine (T4) in 2,299 men and women, > or = 12 years of age, participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) during 2001-2002.


METHODS
We used multiple regression models of T4 and TSH that included perchlorate and covariates known to be or likely to be associated with T4 or TSH levels: age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, estrogen use, menopausal status, pregnancy status, premenarche status, serum C-reactive protein, serum albumin, serum cotinine, hours of fasting, urinary thiocyanate, urinary nitrate, and selected medication groups.


RESULTS
Perchlorate was not a significant predictor of T4 or TSH levels in men. For women overall, perchlorate was a significant predictor of both T4 and TSH. For women with urinary iodine < 100 microg/L, perchlorate was a significant negative predictor of T4 (p < 0.0001) and a positive predictor of TSH (p = 0.001). For women with urinary iodine > or = 100 microg/L, perchlorate was a significant positive predictor of TSH (p = 0.025) but not T4 (p = 0.550).


CONCLUSIONS
These associations of perchlorate with T4 and TSH are coherent in direction and independent of other variables known to affect thyroid function, but are present at perchlorate exposure levels that were unanticipated based on previous studies.
Blount
Benjamin C
BC
Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA. bkb3@cdc.gov
Pirkle
James L
JL
Osterloh
John D
JD
Valentin-Blasini
Liza
L
Caldwell
Kathleen L
KL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010472:Perchlorates / Q000652:urine*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000652:urine*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood; D014481:United States
D010472:Perchlorates; D013963:Thyroid Hormones; D013972:Thyrotropin; D013974:Thyroxine; C494474:perchlorate