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Predictors of adipose tissue concentrations of organochlorine pesticides in a general Danish population

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 22, pages 52–59 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Organochlorine pesticides are ubiquitously present in the environment and suspected of carcinogenic, neurological and immunological effects. Our objective was to identify determinants of adipose tissue levels of organochlorine pesticides experienced by a general Danish population. Adipose tissue was collected upon enrolment of 245 randomly selected persons from a prospective cohort of 57,053 persons enrolled between 1993 and 1997. We examined geography, gender, age, lactation, body mass index (BMI) and intake of nine dietary groups and tap water drinks, as potential determinants of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, hexachlorocyclohexane, dieldrin, hexachlorobenzene, cis-nonachlor, trans-nonachlor and oxychlordane. Living in Copenhagen city and age at enrolment showed positive associations with all compounds. BMI was positively associated with all compounds except cis-nonachlor. Fatty-fish consumption showed positive associations with cis-nonachlor, trans-nonachlor, DDT and dieldrin and fruit and vegetables were inversely associated with dieldrin. Determinant estimates of trans-nonachlor were similar to estimates of total chlordanes while cis-nonachlor and oxychlordane seemed to differ. This is one of the first studies of organochlorine pesticides predictors in adipose tissue and contributes to the ongoing debate about exposure sources of these compounds. Single determinants varied among the individual compounds, even within related chlordane residues, suggesting that organochlorine pesticides should not be treated as a homogenous group.

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Abbreviations

BMI:

body mass index

DDE:

dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene

DDT:

dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

HCB:

hexachlorobenzene

HCH:

hexachlorohexane

LOD:

limit of detection

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Acknowledgements

Dr Bräuner was supported by a research grant from The Danish Medical Research Council. This work was also funded by the following Foundations: Danish Cancer Society, Aase and Ejnar Danielsens, King Christian the 10th, A.P. Møller, The Hartmann Brothers, The Foundation of 1870, Snedker Jacobsen and hustru Astrid Jacobsen, Architect Holger Hjortenberg and hustru Dagmar Hjortenberg, Civil Engineer Frode V. Nyegaard and hustru and Simon Spies. None of these foundations had a role in the design of the study, interpretation of the results or writing of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Elvira V Bräuner, Ole Raaschou-Nielsen, Anne Tjønneland & Mette Sørensen

  2. Centre de Toxicologie du Québec, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada

    Eric Gaudreau & Alain Leblanc

  3. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

    Kim Overvad

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  1. Elvira V Bräuner
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Correspondence to Elvira V Bräuner.

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Bräuner, E., Raaschou-Nielsen, O., Gaudreau, E. et al. Predictors of adipose tissue concentrations of organochlorine pesticides in a general Danish population. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 22, 52–59 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2011.39

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