Organochlorine Pesticides, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Seafood Consumption, and Time-to-Pregnancy

• Published in: Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) Mass.), 2013-03, Vol.24 (2), p.251-260
• Main Authors: Chevrier, Cécile, Warembourg, Charline, Gaudreau, Eric, Monfort, Christine, Le Blanc, Alain, Guldner, Laurence, Cordier, Sylvaine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Cohort Studies; Cord blood; Environmental Pollutants - blood; Epidemiology; Female; Fertility; Fetal Blood - chemistry; France; General aspects; Hair - chemistry; Halogenated diphenyl ethers; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers - blood; Humans; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - blood; Infant, Newborn; Life Sciences; Lipids; Maternal Exposure - adverse effects; Maternal Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Medical sciences; Mercury - analysis; Miscellaneous; Odds Ratio; Organic pollution; Persistent organic pollutants; Pesticides; Pesticides - blood; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - blood; Pregnancy; Proportional Hazards Models; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Reproduction; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Seafood - adverse effects; Shellfish; Surveys and Questionnaires; Time-to-Pregnancy
• ISSN: 1044-3983; 1531-5487
• DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e31827f53ec

Background: People in developed countries are widely exposed to low levels of organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Seafood is a major contributor to PCB exposure. Toxicity of those various pollutants to reproductive and endocrine functions raises questions about possible effects on fertility. We explored whether serum levels of these pollutants and seafood consumption were associated with the fertility of couples enrolled in a French birth cohort (PELAGIE). Methods: Time-to-pregnancy was investigated in 3,421 pregnant women by asking how many months they had taken to conceive. Levels of 14 organochlorine pesticides, 12 PCBs, and 10 PBDE compounds were measured in cord blood serum from a random subcohort (n = 394). Mercury concentrations measured in maternal hair were considered as a potential coexposure. Fecundability odds ratios (ORs) were estimated from multivariate discrete-time Cox proportional hazard models. Results: Shellfish consumption was associated with longer time-to-pregnancy (fecundability OR ≥twice/week vs. 0.410 μg/L vs.