Time to menopause in relation to PBBs, PCBs, and smoking

Because halogenated biphenyl exposure is suspected to disrupt endocrine function, we assessed time to menopause in women aged 24 years and older who were exposed orally to polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (n = 874). We also examined smoking in relation to menopause.

To define menopausal status, women were interviewed in 1997 and asked whether they had had any menstrual periods in the previous year, why their menstrual periods had stopped (e.g. surgery), and age at their last menstrual period. Serum PBB and PCB taken at enrollment (1976-1978) into the Michigan PBB registry was used as the measure of halogenated biphenyl exposure. Women whose menopause occurred before their PBB exposure were excluded. Proportional hazard modeling was used to analyze the "risk" for menopause in relation to exposure. Premenopausal women contributed person-time until their interview date, at which time they were censored.

We did not find an association between either PBB or PCB exposure and time to menopause. Women who were current smokers had a shorter time to menopause than never smokers (menopause ratio 2.02, 95% C.I. 1.21-3.37). Time to menopause was shortest among women who reported started smoking when they were <18 years of age, smoked at least 20 cigarettes per day, or had at least 10 pack-years of smoking.