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Published on: August 17, 2019
Exposure to Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and a Polybrominated Biphenyl and Risk of Thyroid Cancer in Women: Single
Nicole C Deziel1, Javier Alfonso-Garrido2, Joshua L Warren3
1Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut. nicole.deziel@yale.edu.
Background:
Thyroid cancer incidence is the most rapidly increasing malignancy; rates are three times higher in women than men. Thyroid hormone-disrupting flame-retardant chemicals, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), may contribute to this trend.
Methods:
We investigated the relationship between PBDE/PBB exposure and papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) in 250 incident female papillary thyroid cancer cases and 250 female controls frequency-matched on age. Interviews and postdiagnostic serum samples were collected from 2010 to 2013. Serum samples were analyzed for 11 congeners. We calculated ORs and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) using single-pollutant logistic regression models for continuous and categorical lipid-adjusted serum concentrations of PBDE/PBB, adjusted for age, alcohol consumption, and education. We applied three multi-pollutant approaches [standard multipollutant regression models, hierarchical Bayesian logistic regression modeling (HBLR), principal components analysis (PCA)] to investigate associations with PBDE/PBB mixtures.
Results:
In single-pollutant models, a decreased risk was observed at the highest (>90th percentile) versus lowest (
Conclusions:
Our results using single- and multi-pollutant modeling do not generally support a positive association with PBDE/PBB and PTC risk.
Impact:
Prospective studies with more advanced statistical approaches to analyze mixtures and populations with higher exposures could reveal new insights.
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