| Chloracne, Goiter, Arthritis, and Anemia after Polychlorinated Biphenyl Poisoning: 14-Year Follow-Up of the Taiwan Yucheng Cohort Yueliang Leon Guo,1 Mei-Lin Yu,1 Chen-Chin Hsu,2 and Walter J. Rogan3 1National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan
2Tainan City Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
3National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA Abstract
In 1979, a mass poisoning involving 2,000 people occurred in central Taiwan from ingestion of cooking oil contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) . We studied the prevalence of medical conditions in the exposed individuals and in a neighborhood control group. Starting with a registry of the exposed individuals from 1983, we updated the addresses of exposed individuals and identified a control group matched for age, sex, and neighborhood in 1979. In 1993, individuals 30 years of age or older were interviewed by telephone. We obtained usable information from 795 exposed subjects and 693 control subjects. Lifetime prevalence of chloracne, abnormal nails, hyperkeratosis, skin allergy, goiter, headache, gum pigmentation, and broken teeth were observed more frequently in the PCB/PCDF-exposed men and women. The exposed women reported anemia 2.3 times more frequently than controls. The exposed men reported arthritis and herniated intervertebral disks 4.1 and 2.9 times, respectively, more frequently than controls. There was no difference in reported prevalences of other medical conditions. We conclude that Taiwanese people exposed to high levels of PCBs and PCDFs reported more frequent medical problems, including skin diseases, goiter, anemia, and joint and spine diseases. Key words: acneform eruptions, food intoxication, PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, skin manifestations, thyroid gland. Environ Health Perspect 107:715-719 (1999) . [Online 28 July 1999] http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/107p715-719guo/ abstract.html Address correspondence to M.-L. Yu, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, 138 Sheng Li Road, Tainan, Taiwan. Telephone: 886-6-236-5228. Fax: 886-6-274-3748. E-mail: leonguo@mail.ncku.edu.tw We thank S.-M. Dai, Y.-C. Kau, and Y.-T. Lin, the field staff of National Cheng Kung University Yucheng follow-up group, for their hard work. Support for this work was from Department of Health of Taiwan grant DOH86-HR-620. W.J.R received a National Science Council Visiting Scientist grant at National Cheng Kung University. Received 17 February 1999 ; accepted 17 May 1999.
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