Elsevier

Science of The Total Environment

Volume 538, 15 December 2015, Pages 152-161
Science of The Total Environment

Levels and predictors of persistent organic pollutants in an adult population from four Spanish regions

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.162Get rights and content

Highlights

  • We analyzed persistent organic pollutants in adults from four Spanish regions.

  • Detection rates ranged from 89.1% (HCB) to 93.6 (PCB-153).

  • Predictors of POP exposure included gender, BMI, age, and study area.

  • Receipt of breastfeeding and mother's previous pregnancies also affected exposure.

  • Consumption of fatty food was in general positively associated with POP levels.

Abstract

This research aimed to assess serum concentrations of a group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a sample of adults recruited in four different regions from Spain and to assess socio-demographic, dietary, and lifestyle predictors of the exposure.

The study population comprised 312 healthy adults selected from among controls recruited in the MCC-Spain multicase-control study. Study variables were collected using standardized questionnaires, and pollutants were analyzed by means of gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Multivariable analyses were performed to identify predictors of log-transformed pollutant concentrations, using combined backward and forward stepwise multiple linear regression models.

Detection rates ranged from 89.1% (hexachlorobenzene, HCB) to 93.6% (Polychlorinated biphenyl-153 [PCB-153]); p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE) showed the highest median concentrations (1.04 ng/ml), while HCB showed the lowest (0.24 ng/ml). In the multivariable models, age was positively associated with HCB, p,p′-DDE, and PCB-180. BMI was associated positively with p,p′-DDE but negatively with PCB-138. Total accumulated time residing in an urban area was positively associated with PCB-153 concentrations. The women showed higher HCB and lower p,p′-DDE concentrations versus the men. Notably, POP exposure in our study population was inversely associated with the breastfeeding received by participants and with the number of pregnancies of their mothers but was not related to the participants' history of breastfeeding their children or parity. Smoking was negatively associated with HCB and PCB-153 concentrations. Consumption of fatty foods, including blue fish, was in general positively associated with POP levels.

Although POP environmental levels are declining worldwide, there is a need for the continuous monitoring of human exposure in the general population. The results of the present study confirm previous findings and point to novel predictors of long-term exposure to persistent organic pollutants.

Introduction

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a group of lipophilic chemicals that are highly resistant to biological and photolytic degradation and are therefore able to bioaccumulate in living organisms, mainly in their fatty tissues (Jung et al., 2012, UNEP, 2012). POPs include several chemical species, including organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were extensively used until their widespread prohibition in the late 1970s due to their long half-lives and potential toxicity, and they remain present in the food chain (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 2004).

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is one of the most well-known organochlorine pesticides. It was applied worldwide as an insecticide for vector control until the 1970s (van den Berg, 2009) and is still used in some countries (e.g. Morocco, Mexico) (Zumbado et al., 2005). In the environment and in living organisms, DDT is mainly degraded to p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE), which is even more persistent than the parent compound (WHO, 1979). Estimates of the half-life of p,p′-DDE in the human body range between 7 and 8.6 years (Kirman et al., 2011, Saoudi et al., 2014), and it has been found to interact with androgen receptors (Li et al., 2008) and estrogen receptors (Soto et al., 1995).

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) was previously used as fungicide for cereals (Addae et al., 2013) and is still released during the burning of waste and in chloralkali and wood-preserving processes, among other industrial processes (ATSDR, 1996, Aurrekoetxea Agirre et al., 2011). The half-life of HCB in the human body has been estimated at around 6 years (Hardell et al., 2010, Mrema et al., 2013). It is known to cause damage to the liver and endocrine systems, among other human organs (ATSDR, 1996, World Health Organisation, 2013), and to be an androgen receptor antagonist (Li et al., 2008). In addition, recent research has suggested that exposure to low levels of HCB can affect the neurological and behavioral development of young children (Liu and Schelar, 2012).

PCBs include a wide group of 209 congeners with various industrial applications, e.g., in thermal insulation or as coolant (ATSDR, 2000). Although banned in Spain since 1986, they are commonly found in the environment and living organisms (Agudo et al., 2009). Concentrations of three of these congeners, PCB-138, PCB-153, and PCB-180, are frequently used as biomarkers of the total exposure of PCBs, because they have been found to account for approximately 50% of total PCB exposure in the general population (Apostoli et al., 2005, Arrebola et al., 2012b, Bergonzi et al., 2009, Covaci et al., 2008). There is a wide variation in half-lives among PCB congeners from a few days to as long as 17 years, depending on the number and position of the chlorine atoms (Hardell et al., 2010, WHO, 2000).

Diet is estimated to account for the majority of human exposure to POPs (Gasull et al., 2011, Gomara et al., 2005, Llobet et al., 2003). However, the contribution of specific food items and lifestyle patterns to the POP body burden is not completely understood (Boada et al., 2014, Juberg, 2000, Porta et al., 2010).

The objectives of the present research, conceived as part of the multi-center MCC-SPAIN study, were to assess serum concentrations of a group of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in a sample of adults recruited in four different regions from Spain and to assess socio-demographic, dietary and lifestyle predictors of exposure.

Section snippets

Study population

The study population was selected from among controls recruited in the MCC-Spain study, a population-based multicase-control study carried out between September 2008 and December 2013 in 12 Spanish provinces. The aim of MCC-Spain was to study factors related to some of the most relevant tumors in the Spanish population (breast, colorectal, gastroesophageal, and prostate cancer and chronic lymphocytic leukemia) in seven Spanish regions (Castano-Vinyals et al., 2015). Controls were randomly

Serum POP concentrations in the study population

Frequencies of detection and concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in serum samples are shown in Table 2. All analyzed samples were positive for at least one of the studied chemicals. Detection rates ranged from 89.1% (HCB) to 93.6 (PCB-153). p,p′-DDE showed the highest median concentrations (1.04 ng/ml), while HCB showed the lowest (0.24 ng/ml).

Table 3 summarizes a review of recent studies on organochlorine pesticide and PCB serum concentrations in Spanish populations. There is a

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the scientific and technical assistance provided by Richard Davies. Dr J.P. Arrebola is currently receiving a postdoctoral fellowship from the Consejería de Igualdad, Salud y Políticas Sociales, Junta de Andalucía, Spain (RH-0092-2013). F Artacho-Cordón has a fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU12/02524). This study was supported in part by research grants from CIBER de Epidemiología and Junta de Andalucía (SAS 01/264, P09-CTS-5488, SAS

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