Decreased sex ratio following maternal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls from contaminated Great Lakes sport-caught fish: a retrospective cohort study.

Weisskopf, Anderson, Hanrahan, The

Description

Fish from the Great Lakes are contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, which have been found to have several adverse reproductive effects. Several environmental contaminants have been found to alter the sex ratio of offspring at birth, but the evidence of such an effect of polychlorinated biphenyls has been inconsistent. Methods We examined parental serum polychlorinated biphenyl concentration in relation to the sex ratio of 173 children of mothers and 208 children of fathers from the Great Lakes region of the United States between 1970 and 1995. We calculated odds ratios for a male child using logistic regression and generalized estimating equations with adjustment for the year of birth of the child, maternal and paternal age, the mother's parity at the child's birth, and whether the child had an older brother. Results The adjusted odds ratio for having a male child among mothers in the highest quintile of serum polychlorinated biphenyl concentration was 0.18 (95% CI: 0.06–0.59) compared to mothers in the lowest quintile. Treating exposure as a continuous variable, the adjusted odds ratio for having a male child was 0.54 per unit increase in the natural log of maternal serum polychlorinated biphenyl concentration (95% CI: 0.33–0.89). There was little evidence of an association with paternal exposure. We found no association between either maternal or paternal serum dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethene concentration and the sex ratio. Conclusions These findings suggest that maternal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls may decrease the sex ratio of offspring. These data add to the growing body of evidence that exposure to particular chemicals can alter the sex ratio at birth.

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• Publié par: biomed
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• Langue: English

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Published: 12 March 2003 Received: 30 December 2002 Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source 2003, 2 :2 Accepted: 12 March 2003 This article is available from: h ttp://www.ehjournal.net/content/2/1/2 © 2003 Weisskopf et al; licensee BioMed Centra l Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of thi s article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL.

Abstract Background: Fish from the Great Lakes are contaminat ed with polychlorinated biphenyls, which have been found to have severa l adverse reproductive effects. Several environmental contaminants have been found to alter the sex ratio of offspring at birth, but the evidence of such an effect of polychlorinated biphenyls has been inconsistent. Methods: We examined parental serum polychlorinated biphenyl concen tration in relation to the sex ratio of 173 children of mothers and 208 childr en of fathers from the Great Lakes region of the United States between 1970 and 1995. We calcul ated odds ratios for a male child using logistic regression and generalized estimati ng equations with adjustment for the year of birth of the child, maternal and paternal age, the mo ther's parity at the child's birt h, and whether the child had an older brother. Results: The adjusted odds ratio for having a male ch ild among mothers in the highest quintile of serum polychlorinated biphenyl concentration was 0.18 (95% CI: 0.06–0.59) compared to mothers in the lowest quintile. Treating exposure as a cont inuous variable, the adjust ed odds ratio for having a male child was 0.54 per unit increase in the natu ral log of maternal seru m polychlorinated biphenyl concentration (95% CI: 0.33–0.89). There was littl e evidence of an association with paternal exposure. We found no as sociation between either maternal or paternal serum dichlorodiphenyl- dichloroethene concentr ation and the sex ratio. Conclusions: These findings suggest that maternal e xposure to polychlori nated biphenyls may decrease the sex ratio of offspring. These data ad d to the growing body of evidence that exposure to particular chemicals can alter the sex ratio at birth.

Research Open Access Decreased sex ratio follow ing maternal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls fr om contaminated Great Lakes sport-caught fish: a retrospective cohort study. Marc G Weisskopf* 1,2 , Henry A Anderson 1 , Lawrence P Hanrahan 1 and the Great Lakes Consortium

Address: 1 Bureau of Environmental He alth, Wisconsin Department of Health an d Family Services, Madison, WI, USA and 2 Current address: Harvard School of Public Health, Dept. of Environmental Health, Occupati onal Health Program, 665 Huntington Ave Boston MA 02115 , USA Email: Marc G Weisskopf* - [e-mail].e du; Henry A Anderson - ander [e-mail]; Lawrence P Hanrahan - [e-mail]; the Great Lakes Consortium - * Corresponding author

Background fishers [1–3]. These compounds are synthetic organochlo- Contamination of the Great Lakes has led to the bioaccu- rines (OC) that, along with dichlorodiphenyl-dichlo- mulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish, roethene (DDE), comprise the bulk of OC residues found particularly the larger predator species prized by sport- in human tissues [4], and some of the highest body