title: The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study: methods for an environmental exposure study of polychlorinated dioxins, furans, and biphenyls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study (UMDES) was undertaken in response to concerns that the discharge of dioxin-like compounds from the Dow Chemical Company facilities in Midland, Michigan, resulted in contamination of soils in the Tittabawassee River floodplain and areas of the city of Midland, leading to an increase in residents' body burdens of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The UMDES is a hypothesis-driven study designed to answer important questions about human exposure to dioxins in the environment of Midland, where the Dow Chemical Company has operated for > 100 years, and in neighboring Saginaw, Michigan. In addition, the UMDES includes a referent population from an area of Michigan in which there are no unusual sources of dioxin exposure and from which inferences regarding the general Michigan population can be derived. A central goal of the study is to determine which factors explain variation in serum dioxin levels and to quantify how much variation each factor explains.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this article we describe the study design and methods for a large population-based study of dioxin contamination and its relationship to blood dioxin levels. The study collected questionnaire, blood, dust, and soil samples on 731 people. This study provides a foundation for understanding the exposure pathways by which dioxins in soils, sediments, fish and game, and homegrown produce lead to increased body burdens of these compounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Risk Science Center, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2029, USA. dhg@umich.edu
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Garabrant
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Franzblau
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lepkowski
authors.forename: Brenda W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Adriaens
authors.forename: Avery
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Demond
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ladronka
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hedgeman
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Knutson
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zwica
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Towey
authors.forename: Qixuan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Biling
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008824:Michigan; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities
chemical_list: D001572:Benzofurans; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls