Flame retardants in placenta and breast milk and cryptorchidism in newborn boys.
Katharina M. Main,Hannu Kiviranta,Helena E. Virtanen,Erno Sundqvist,Jouni T. Tuomisto,Jouko Tuomisto,Terttu Vartiainen,Niels E. Skakkebæk,Jorma Toppari +8 more
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TLDR
Two different proxies were used for prenatal PBDE exposure, and levels in breast milk, but not in placenta, showed an association with congenital cryptorchidism, and these observations are of concern because human exposure to PBDEs is high in some geographic areas.Abstract:
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are widely used as flame retardants, and the general population is exposed through products such as upholstery, building materials, insulation, electronic equipment, and contaminated food. PBDEs are added to polymers without being chemically bound and can leach into the environment, where they settle with air particles and sludge. They are persistent, and some—BDE-47, BDE-99, and BDE-153—can accumulate in lipid-rich tissues (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 2004; Sjodin et al. 2003).
Concentrations of PBDE in human European breast milk samples are generally low compared with those in the United States, and considered to be well below the estimated lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) of 1 mg/kg/day (Darnerud et al. 2001). Two technical mixtures, penta- and octa-mixtures of PBDEs, have been banned from use in Europe since 2003 (Darnerud et al. 2001), and Swedish studies indicated a decrease in breast milk levels since the middle of the 1990s (Meironyte et al.1999; Sjodin et al. 2003). However, annual production rates of some PBDEs are still considerable in some areas (Alaee et al. 2006; Betts 2002; Law et al. 2006). Animal studies show that some PBDEs exhibit endocrine-disrupting activity, which has been studied predominantly for thyroid hormone transport and metabolism (Legler and Brouwer 2003), but data on adverse effects on reproductive outcome after gestational exposure are also emerging (Lilienthal et al. 2006).
The prevalence of cryptorchidism in newborn boys appears to have increased in some areas, such as Great Britain and Denmark, over the past decades, and its current prevalence is considerably higher in Denmark than in Finland (Anonymous 1986; Boisen et al. 2004). Although the reason for this is as yet unknown, the rapid increase in prevalence suggests that environmental factors are involved (Sharpe 2006; Skakkebaek et al. 2001). Adverse effects of fetal exposure to environmental chemicals on testicular descent and hormonal function may be detectable during the short physiologic activation of the pituitary–gonadal axis at approximately 3 months of age (Andersson et al. 1998; Main et al. 2000, 2006b; Suomi et al. 2006).
In this study we aimed to evaluate the association between exposure to 14 PBDEs (BDEs 28, 47, 66, 71, 75, 77, 85, 99, 100,119, 138, 153, 154, 183) in newborn boys and the position and function of the testes.read more
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EDC-2: The Endocrine Society's Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals
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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Levels and trends of brominated flame retardants in the European environment.
Robin J. Law,C.R. Allchin,Jacob de Boer,Adrian Covaci,Dorte Herzke,Peter Lepom,Steven Morris,Jacek Tronczynski,Cynthia A. de Wit +8 more
TL;DR: The input of BDEs to the Baltic Sea by atmospheric deposition now exceeds that of PCBs by a factor of almost 40 times, and a common suite is suggested which will allow the study of all three commercial PBDE formulations.