Thyroid Function and Perchlorate in Drinking Water: An Evaluation among California Newborns, 1998

• Published in: Environmental health perspectives 2006-05, Vol.114 (5), p.798-804
• Main Authors: Buffler, Patricia A., Kelsh, Michael A., Lau, Edmund C., Edinboro, Charlotte H., Barnard, Julie C., Rutherford, George W., Daaboul, Jorge J., Palmer, Lynn, Lorey, Fred W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Birth weight; California; Children's Health; Congenital hypothyroidism; Drinking water; Genetic disorders; Groundwater; Hormones; Humans; Hypothyroidism; Infant, Newborn; Infants (Newborn); Neonatal Screening; Newborns; Perchlorates; Perchlorates - toxicity; Potable water; River water; Submarine boats; Surface water; Thyroid function; Thyroid Function Tests; Thyroid Gland - drug effects; Thyroid Gland - physiopathology; Water Supply - analysis; Water, Underground; Water-supply
• ISSN: 0091-6765; 1552-9924
• DOI: 10.1289/ehp.8176

Perchlorate (ClO4-) has been detected in groundwater sources in numerous communities in California and other parts of the United States, raising concerns about potential impacts on health. For California communities where ClO4- was tested in 1997 and 1998, we evaluated the prevalence of primary congenital hypothyroidism (PCH) and high thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels among the 342,257 California newborns screened in 1998. We compared thyroid function results among newborns from 24 communities with average ClO4- concentrations in drinking $water > 5 \mu g/L$ (n = 50,326) to newborns from 287 communities with average concentrations $\leq 5 \mu g/L$ (n = 291, 931). ClO4- concentrations obtained from the California Drinking Water Program provided source-specific data for estimating weighted average concentrations in community water. Fifteen cases of PCH from communities with average concentration > $5 \mu g/L$ were observed, with 20.4 expected [adjusted prevalence odds ratio (POR) = 0.71; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.40-1.19]. Although only 36% of all California newborns were screened before 24 hr of age in 1998, nearly 80% of newborns with high TSH were screened before 24 hr of age. Because of the physiologic postnatal surge of TSH, the results for newborns screened before 24 hr were uninformative for assessing an environmental impact. For newborns $screened \geq 24 hr$, the adjusted POR for high TSH was 0.73 (95% CI, 0.40-1.23). All adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were controlled for sex, ethnicity, birth weight, and multiple birth status. Using an assessment of ClO4- in drinking water based on available data, we did not observe an association between estimated average ClO4--concentrations > $5 \mu g/L$ in drinking water supplies and the prevalence of clinically diagnosed PCH or high TSH concentrations.