| Hormone Disruption by PBDEs in Adult Male Sport Fish Consumers Mary E. Turyk,1 Victoria W. Persky,1 Pamela Imm,2 Lynda Knobeloch,2 Robert Chatterton Jr.,3 and Henry A. Anderson2 1Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; 2Wisconsin Division of Public Health, Bureau of Environmental Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; 3Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA Abstract
Background: Persistent pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) , affect endocrine function. Human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) , which are similar in structure to PCBs, has increased recently, but health effects have not been well studied. Objectives: Our goal in this study was to determine whether PBDE body burdens are related to thyroid and steroid hormone levels, thyroid antibodies, and thyroid disease in a cohort of frequent and infrequent adult male sport fish consumers. Methods: We tested serum from 405 adult males for PBDE congeners, PCB congeners, testosterone, sex-hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) , SHBG-bound testosterone, thyroglobulin antibodies, and the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) , triiodothyronine (T3) , thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) , and T4-binding globulin (TBG) . We collected data on demographics, fish consumption, medical diseases, and medication use. Results: The median sum of PBDEs was 38 ng/g lipid. In 308 men without thyroid disease or diabetes, PBDEs were positively related to measures of T4 and reverse T3 and inversely related to total T3 and TSH. PBDEs were positively related to the percentage of T4 bound to albumin, and inversely related to the percentage of T4 bound to TBG. Associations of BDE congeners with hormones varied. BDE-47 was positively associated with testosterone levels. Participants with PBDEs over the 95th percentile were more likely to have thyroglobulin antibodies, although high PBDE exposure was not associated with thyroid disease. PBDE effects were independent of PCB exposure and sport fish consumption. Conclusions: PBDE exposure, at levels comparable with those of the general U.S. population, was associated with increased thyroglobulin antibodies and increased T4 in adult males. Key words: brominated flame retardants, hormone, PBDEs, sex hormone binding globulin, sport fish, testosterone, thyroglobulin antibodies, thyroid hormone. Environ Health Perspect 116:1635–1641 (2008) . doi:10.1289/ehp.11707 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 24 July 2008]
Address correspondence to M. Turyk, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, 1603 W. Taylor St., Room 879 (M/C 923) , Chicago, IL 60612 USA. Telephone: (312) 355-4673. Fax: (312) 996-7726. E-mail: mturyk1@uic.edu We thank L. Birmbaum for her advice and A. Lambertino for data cleaning and manuscript preparation. This research was funded by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant RD-83025401-1. M.E.T. was supported in part by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Training Program grant 1T01CD000189-01. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 15 May 2008 ; accepted 24 July 2008.
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