Logo image
Back
Plasma polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations and immune function in postmenopausal women
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Plasma polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations and immune function in postmenopausal women

June T. Spector, Anneclaire J. De Roos, Cornelia M. Ulrich, Lianne Sheppard, Andreas Sjoedin, Mark H. Wener, Brent Wood and Anne McTiernan
Environmental research, v 131, pp 174-180
01 May 2014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2014.03.011
PMID: 24721136
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://europepmc.org/articles/pmc4019676View
Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified),  Open

Abstract

Environmental Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Public, Environmental & Occupational Health Science & Technology
Background: Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure has been associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in several studies, and the immune system is a potential mediator. Objectives: We analyzed associations of plasma PCBs with immune function measures. We hypothesized that higher plasma PCB concentrations are associated with lower immune function cross-sectionally, and that increases in PCB concentrations over a one year period are associated with decreases in immune function. Methods: Plasma PCB concentrations and immune function [natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity and PHA-induced T-lymphocyte proliferation (PHA-TLP)] were measured at baseline and one year in 109 postmenopausal overweight women participating in an exercise intervention study in the Seattle, Washington (USA) area. Mixed models, with adjustment for body mass index and other potential confounders, were used to estimate associations of PCBs with immune function cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Results: Associations of PCBs with immune function measures differed across groups of PCBs (e.g., medium- and high-chlorinated and dioxin-like [mono-ortho-substituted]) and by the time frame for the comparison (cross-sectional vs. longitudinal). Higher concentrations of medium- and high-chlorinated PCBs were associated with higher PHA-TLP cross-sectionally but not longitudinally. The mean decrease in 0.5 mu g/mL PHA-TLP/50.0 pmol/g-lipid increase in dioxin-like PCBs over one year was 51.6 (95% confidence interval 2.7, 100.5; P=0.039). There was no association between plasma PCBs and NK cytotoxicity. Conclusions: These results do not provide strong evidence of impaired cellular immunity from PCB exposure. Larger longitudinal studies with greater variability in PCB exposures are needed to further examine temporal associations of PCBs with immune function. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metrics

5 Record Views
8 citations in Web of Science
8 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Environmental Sciences
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Logo image