Background: Exposure to hormonally active chemicals could plausibly affect pubertal timing, so we are investigating this in the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program.
Objectives: Our goal was to examine persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in relation to pubertal onset.
Methods: Ethnically diverse cohorts of 6- to 8-year-old girls (n = 645) provided serum for measure of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and lipids. Tanner stages [breast (B) and pubic hair (PH)], and body mass index (BMI) were measured at up to seven annual clinic visits. Using accelerated failure time models, we calculated time ratios (TRs) for age at Tanner stages 2 or higher (2+) and POPs quartiles (Q1–4), adjusting for confounders (race/ethnicity, site, caregiver education, and income). We also calculated prevalence ratios (PRs) of Tanner stages 2+ at time of blood sampling.
Results: Cross-sectionally, the prevalence of B2+ and PH2+ was inversely related to chemical serum concentrations; but after adjustment for confounders, only the associations with B2+, not PH2+, were statistically significant. Longitudinally, the age at pubertal transition was consistently older with greater chemical concentrations; for example: adjusted TR for B2+ and Q4 for ΣPBDE = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.08, for ΣPCB = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.08, and for ΣOCP = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.14, indicating median ages of about 6 and 11 months older than least exposed, and with similar effect estimates for PH2+. Adjusting for BMI attenuated associations for PCBs and OCPs but not for PBDEs.
Conclusions: This first longitudinal study of puberty in girls with serum POPs measurements (to our knowledge) reveals a delay in onset with higher concentrations.
1California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California, USA; 2University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; 3Impact Assessment Inc., La Jolla, California, USA; 4Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 5Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, California, USA; 6Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA; 7Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA; 8Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California, USA
Recommended Citation:
Gayle C. Windham,1 Susan M. Pinney,2 Robert W. Voss,et al. Brominated Flame Retardants and Other Persistent Organohalogenated Compounds in Relation to Timing of Puberty in a Longitudinal Study of Girls[J]. Environmental Health Perspectives,2015-01-01,Volume 123(Issue 10):1046