A Birth Cohort Study of Maternal and Infant Serum PCB-153 and DDE Concentrations and Responses to Infant Tuberculosis

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Todd A Jusko1, Anneclaire J De Roos, Sue Y Lee

  • 1Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA.

Environmental Health Perspectives
|December 10, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Early-life exposure to environmental pollutants like PCBs and DDE significantly reduces infant response to the BCG vaccine, impacting tuberculosis prevention. These findings highlight the need to consider environmental factors in vaccine efficacy.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Immunology
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • The Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine provides variable and often inadequate protection against tuberculosis.
  • The reasons for this variability are not well understood and are likely multifactorial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether early-life exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDE) affects the immune response to the BCG vaccine in infants at 6 months of age.
  • To examine the association between specific PCB congeners (PCB-153) and DDE levels and BCG-specific antibody concentrations.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective birth cohort study was conducted in eastern Slovakia involving approximately 500 mother-infant pairs.
  • Maternal and cord blood were collected at birth for chemical analysis; infants received the BCG vaccine.
  • Infant blood was collected at 6 months for chemical analysis and to measure BCG-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgA levels.
  • Multivariable linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between chemical exposures and BCG vaccine response, adjusting for potential confounders.

Main Results:

  • Higher concentrations of PCB-153 and DDE in 6-month-old infants were strongly associated with lower levels of BCG-specific antibodies.
  • Infants in the highest quartile of PCB-153 exposure had 37% lower BCG-specific IgG levels compared to those in the lowest quartile.
  • Similar reductions in antibody levels were observed for DDE exposure, and evidence suggested an additive effect when both PCB-153 and DDE were present.

Conclusions:

  • Environmental exposures to PCBs and DDE may be significant, yet overlooked, factors contributing to reduced BCG vaccine efficacy.
  • Further research is needed to understand the broader implications of these environmental exposures on tuberculosis incidence.
Abstract

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