title: Reproductive hormone profile and pubertal development in 14-year-old boys prenatally exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls.
abstract: Because polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are thought to cause endocrine disruption, we examined 438 adolescent boys from a birth cohort in the Faroe Islands, where PCB exposures are elevated. We measured PCBs and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) in cord blood and in serum from clinical examination at age 14. Higher prenatal PCB exposure was associated with lower serum concentrations of both luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone. In addition, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) was positively associated with both prenatal and concurrent PCB exposures. The PCB-SHBG association was robust to covariate adjustment. In a structural equation model, a doubling in prenatal PCB exposure was associated with a decrease in LH of 6% (p=0.03). Prenatal exposure to PCB and DDE showed weak, non-significant inverse associations with testicular size and Tanner stage. DDE was highly correlated with PCB and showed slightly weaker associations with the hormone profile. These findings suggest that delayed puberty with low serum-LH concentrations associated with developmental exposure to non dioxin-like PCBs may be due to a central hypothalamo-pituitary mechanism.
authors: Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense, Denmark. pgrand@sdu.dk
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Grandjean
authors: Ciea
authors: C
authors: Grønlund
authors: Ina M
authors: IM
authors: Kjær
authors: Tina Kold
authors: TK
authors: Jensen
authors: Nicolina
authors: N
authors: Sørensen
authors: Anna-Maria
authors: AM
authors: Andersson
authors: Anders
authors: A
authors: Juul
authors: Niels E
authors: NE
authors: Skakkebæk
authors: Esben
authors: E
authors: Budtz-Jørgensen
authors: Pal
authors: P
authors: Weihe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene / Q000097:blood*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011627:Puberty; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000502:physiology*; D013737:Testis / Q000254:growth & development; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D013739:Testosterone; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls