Environmental Chemicals and their Association with Hyperparathyroidism

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Environmental Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Hyperparathyroidism incidence is rising in the USA.
• Previous research detected environmental chemicals (ECs) in parathyroid tumors.
• The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) measures ECs in serum.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify ECs associated with elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcium levels in the US population.
• To explore potential environmental contributors to hyperparathyroidism.

Main Methods:

• NHANES data (2003-2016) analyzed for calcium levels; a subgroup (2003-2006) analyzed for PTH.
• Subjects with elevated calcium and/or elevated PTH (with normal Vitamin D) were identified.
• Wilcoxon rank sum tests and multivariate models used to assess EC associations with calcium and PTH.

Main Results:

• 51,395 subjects analyzed; 2.1% had elevated calcium.
• 14,681 subjects analyzed in subgroup; 9.4% had elevated PTH with normal Vitamin D.
• 29 polychlorinated biphenyls and 4 organochlorine pesticides (hexachlorobenzene, transnonachlor, oxychlordane, p,p'-DDE) associated with elevated calcium and PTH.

Conclusions:

• 33 ECs identified in NHANES linked to elevated calcium and PTH.
• These findings suggest a potential causal link between environmental factors and hyperparathyroidism.
• Further research on EC levels in biological specimens is warranted.