TY - JOUR
T1 - Exposure to airborne polychlorinated biphenyls and risk of uterine leiomyomata, endometriosis, and polycystic ovarian syndrome
T2 - a register-based Danish cohort study
AU - Tøttenborg, Sandra Søgaard
AU - Wise, Lauren Anne
AU - Wesselink, Amelia Kent
AU - Nielsen, Henriette Svarre
AU - Petersen, Kajsa Ugelvig
AU - Fox, Matthew P
AU - Frederiksen, Marie
AU - Flachs, Esben Meulengracht
AU - Meyer, Harald William
AU - Hougaard, Karin Sørig
AU - Bonde, Jens Peter
AU - Deen, Laura
N1 - Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2025/8
Y1 - 2025/8
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To assess whether exposure to lower-chlorinated PCBs from building materials is associated with increased incidence of UL, endometriosis, and PCOS in female residents.METHODS: We studied 21,619 residents of two Danish partially PCB-contaminated housing areas from 1970 to 2018. Combining register-based relocation history with indoor air measurements, we quantified annual cumulative exposure (PCByear). Nationwide registers identified outcome diagnoses; Cox regression with time-varying exposure estimated hazard ratios (HR).RESULTS: During ≈ 380,000 person-years, we identified 662 incident UL, 199 endometriosis, and 190 PCOS cases. Median exposure was 56.3 PCByear (5-95 percentile: 0.3-4952). Adjusted HRs per 4 ×interquartile range increase in PCByear (880 ng/m3×year) showed no association with UL (HR 0.99, 95 % CI 0.96-1.02), endometriosis (0.96, 95 % CI 0.90-1.02), or PCOS (HR 0.98, 95 % CI 0.93-1.03).DISCUSSION: This first study of gynecological risks from residential PCB exposure found no effect, though exposure misclassification and outcome underascertainment may have biased results towards the null.
AB - OBJECTIVE: To assess whether exposure to lower-chlorinated PCBs from building materials is associated with increased incidence of UL, endometriosis, and PCOS in female residents.METHODS: We studied 21,619 residents of two Danish partially PCB-contaminated housing areas from 1970 to 2018. Combining register-based relocation history with indoor air measurements, we quantified annual cumulative exposure (PCByear). Nationwide registers identified outcome diagnoses; Cox regression with time-varying exposure estimated hazard ratios (HR).RESULTS: During ≈ 380,000 person-years, we identified 662 incident UL, 199 endometriosis, and 190 PCOS cases. Median exposure was 56.3 PCByear (5-95 percentile: 0.3-4952). Adjusted HRs per 4 ×interquartile range increase in PCByear (880 ng/m3×year) showed no association with UL (HR 0.99, 95 % CI 0.96-1.02), endometriosis (0.96, 95 % CI 0.90-1.02), or PCOS (HR 0.98, 95 % CI 0.93-1.03).DISCUSSION: This first study of gynecological risks from residential PCB exposure found no effect, though exposure misclassification and outcome underascertainment may have biased results towards the null.
KW - Adult
KW - Air Pollutants/analysis
KW - Air Pollution, Indoor/adverse effects
KW - Cohort Studies
KW - Denmark/epidemiology
KW - Endometriosis/epidemiology
KW - Environmental Exposure/adverse effects
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Incidence
KW - Leiomyoma/epidemiology
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Polychlorinated Biphenyls/analysis
KW - Polycystic Ovary Syndrome/epidemiology
KW - Registries
KW - Uterine Neoplasms/epidemiology
KW - Young Adult
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105007057549
U2 - 10.1016/j.etap.2025.104738
DO - 10.1016/j.etap.2025.104738
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 40451521
SN - 1382-6689
VL - 117
JO - Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology
JF - Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology
M1 - 104738
ER -