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Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and fibroids: results from the ENDO study

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 25, pages 278–285 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

To evaluate the association between persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and uterine fibroids, we used previously collected data from a cohort of women aged 18–44 years undergoing laparoscopy or laparotomy at 14 participating hospital surgical centers (n=473). POP concentrations were measured in omental fat and serum. Presence of fibroids was defined on the basis of a postoperative diagnosis (n=99). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for each POP by biologic medium were estimated using unconditional logistic regression adjusted for identified covariates. Concentrations were higher in omental fat than in serum for all POPs. Serum p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE) was the only POP associated with fibroids (per 1-SD increase in log-transformed p,p′-DDE OR (95% CI): 1.37 (1.05–1.80)). In analyses excluding women diagnosed with endometriosis, a number of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) measured in omental fat were associated with fibroids (PCB 99: 1.64 (1.08, 2.49); PCB 138: 1.64 (1.03, 2.59); PCB 146: 1.54 (1.01, 2.37); PCB 153: 1.88 (1.12, 3.13); PCB 196: 1.60 (1.02, 2.51); PCB 206: 1.52 (1.01, 2.29)). Although exploratory, our study suggests that PCBs may be associated with fibroids in the absence of other gynecologic disorders such as endometriosis, but the associations varied by biologic media with more POPs emerging when quantified in fat.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded in part by the Intramural Research Program, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (contracts NO1-DK-6-3428, NO1-DK-6-3427, 10001406-02 and 10001406-02). Ethicon Endo-Surgery, LLC, donated the HARMONIC ACE 36P shears and scalpel blades through a signed materials transfer agreement with the University of Utah and NICHD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Department of Health and Human Services, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Britton Trabert

  2. Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Department of Health and Human Services, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA

    Zhen Chen, Liping Sun & Germaine M Buck Louis

  3. Division of Environmental Health Sciences, New York State Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Wadsworth Center, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA

    Kurunthachalam Kannan

  4. Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

    C Matthew Peterson

  5. Department of Global and Community Health, College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

    Anna Z Pollack

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  1. Britton Trabert
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Correspondence to Britton Trabert.

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Trabert, B., Chen, Z., Kannan, K. et al. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and fibroids: results from the ENDO study. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 25, 278–285 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2014.31

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