title: Levels and predictors of persistent organic pollutants in an adult population from four Spanish regions.
abstract: This research aimed to assess serum concentrations of a group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a sample of adults recruited in four different regions from Spain and to assess socio-demographic, dietary, and lifestyle predictors of the exposure. The study population comprised 312 healthy adults selected from among controls recruited in the MCC-Spain multicase-control study. Study variables were collected using standardized questionnaires, and pollutants were analyzed by means of gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Multivariable analyses were performed to identify predictors of log-transformed pollutant concentrations, using combined backward and forward stepwise multiple linear regression models. Detection rates ranged from 89.1% (hexachlorobenzene, HCB) to 93.6% (Polychlorinated biphenyl-153 [PCB-153]); p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) showed the highest median concentrations (1.04ng/ml), while HCB showed the lowest (0.24ng/ml). In the multivariable models, age was positively associated with HCB, p,p'-DDE, and PCB-180. BMI was associated positively with p,p'-DDE but negatively with PCB-138. Total accumulated time residing in an urban area was positively associated with PCB-153 concentrations. The women showed higher HCB and lower p,p'-DDE concentrations versus the men. Notably, POP exposure in our study population was inversely associated with the breastfeeding received by participants and with the number of pregnancies of their mothers but was not related to the participants' history of breastfeeding their children or parity. Smoking was negatively associated with HCB and PCB-153 concentrations. Consumption of fatty foods, including blue fish, was in general positively associated with POP levels. Although POP environmental levels are declining worldwide, there is a need for the continuous monitoring of human exposure in the general population. The results of the present study confirm previous findings and point to novel predictors of long-term exposure to persistent organic pollutants.
authors: Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: mafero@ugr.es.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Fernández-Rodríguez
authors: Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, Spain; Oncology Unit, Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: jparrebola@ugr.es.
authors: J P
authors: JP
authors: Arrebola
authors: Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, Spain.
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Artacho-Cordón
authors: Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, Spain.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Amaya
authors: Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Cancer Epidemiology Unit, National Center for Epidemiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Cancer Epidemiology Research Group, Oncology and Hematology Area, IIS Puerta de Hierro (IDIPHIM), Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Aragones
authors: Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Universidad de Cantabria-IDIVAL, Santander, Spain.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Llorca
authors: Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Cancer Epidemiology Unit, National Center for Epidemiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Cancer Epidemiology Research Group, Oncology and Hematology Area, IIS Puerta de Hierro (IDIPHIM), Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Perez-Gomez
authors: Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Navarra Public Health Institute, Pamplona, Spain; Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA) Pamplona, Spain.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Ardanaz
authors: Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Kogevinas
authors: Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Castano-Vinyals
authors: Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Cancer Epidemiology Unit, National Center for Epidemiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Cancer Epidemiology Research Group, Oncology and Hematology Area, IIS Puerta de Hierro (IDIPHIM), Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Pollan
authors: Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Olea
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants
keywords: Exposure predictors; Organochlorine pesticides; Persistent organic pollutants; Polychlorinated biphenyls