title: Predictors of serum dioxins and PCBs among peripubertal Russian boys.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although sources and routes of exposure to dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been studied, information regarding exposure among children is limited. Breast-feeding and diet are two important contributors to early life exposure. To further understand other significant contributors to childhood exposure, we studied a cohort of children from a city with high environmental dioxin levels.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated predictors of serum concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs)/polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs)/co-planar PCBs (C-PCBs), toxic equivalents (TEQs), and PCBs among 8- to 9-year-old boys in Chapaevsk, Russia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used general linear regression models to explore associations of log(10)-transformed serum concentrations of PCDDs/PCDFs/C-PCBs, TEQs, and PCBs at study entry with anthropometric, demographic, geographic, and dietary factors in 482 boys in Chapaevsk, Russia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median (25th, 75th percentile) concentration for total 2005 TEQs was 21.1 pg/g lipid (14.4, 33.2). Boys who were older, consumed local foods, were breast-fed longer, and whose mothers were employed at the Khimprom chemical plant (where chlorinated chemicals were produced) or gardened locally had significantly higher serum dioxins and PCBs, whereas boys with higher body mass index or more educated parents had significantly lower serum dioxins and PCBs. Boys who lived < 2 km from Khimprom had higher total TEQs (picograms per gram lipid) [adjusted mean = 30.6; 95% confidence interval (CI), 26.8-35.0] than boys who lived > 5 km away (adjusted mean = 18.8; 95% CI, 17.2-20.6).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that there are specific local sources of dioxin and PCB exposure among children in Chapaevsk including maternal gardening, consumption of locally grown food, and residential proximity to the Khimprom plant.
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. jburns@hsph.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Jane S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: Paige L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sergeyev
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Korrick
authors.forename: Mary M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Revich
authors.forename: Larisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Altshul
authors.forename: Donald G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Wayman E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Larry L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Needham
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Saharov
authors.forename: Russ
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hauser
mesh_terms: D001572:Benzofurans / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004147:Dioxins / Q000097:blood*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000097:blood*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D011627:Puberty; D012307:Risk Factors; D012426:Russia
chemical_list: D001572:Benzofurans; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004147:Dioxins; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls