title: Serum polychlorinated biphenyls and their hydroxylated metabolites are associated with demographic and behavioral factors in children and mothers.
abstract: Factors contributing to the inter-individual variation in body burden of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PCBs) have not been fully elucidated. We examined associations between total serum concentrations of 209 PCBs, 64 OH-PCBs, and frequently detected individual congeners with demographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity and community of residence), body mass index (BMI or BMI percentile), and breastfeeding history in children and their mothers from 83 U.S. households. There was a significant positive association between age and concentrations of total PCBs and OH-PCBs in mothers. Non-Hispanics had significantly higher concentrations of total PCBs in mothers and OH-PCBs in children than Hispanics. Concentrations of total PCBs were significantly lower in mothers who had longer breastfeeding duration. Living in the Columbus Junction, Iowa community as compared to East Chicago, Indiana was associated with higher total PCBs in children, probably attributable to higher exposures at school. Lower concentrations of OH-PCBs were significantly associated with a higher BMI percentile in children. Congener-specific associations were observed for 30 PCB and 12 OH-PCB congeners and followed comparable trends. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine factors contributing to variations in serum concentrations of total 209 PCBs and total OH-PCBs in children, as well as to examine ethnic differences in OH-PCB levels. Results from this study revealed that demographic characteristics, body mass index and breastfeeding history are factors that should be considered for human exposure and risk assessment of PCBs and OH-PCBs.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Human Toxicology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, United States.
authors.forename: Wen Xin
authors.initials: WX
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Human Toxicology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, United States; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, United States.
authors.forename: Keri C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Hornbuckle
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, United States.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Human Toxicology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, United States; Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, United States. Electronic address: peter-thorne@uiowa.edu.
authors.forename: Peter S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Thorne
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001942:Breast Feeding; D003710:Demography; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007196:Indiana; D007484:Iowa; D008297:Male; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000097:blood*; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Body mass index; Epidemiology; Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls; Lactation; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Risk assessment