Background: Few human studies have evaluated the impact of childhood exposure to organochlorine pesticides (OCP) on pubertal development.
Objective: We evaluated associations of serum OCP concentrations [hexachlorobenzene (HCB), β-hexachlorocyclohexane (βHCH), and p,p-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p´-DDE)] with age at attainment of sexual maturity among boys.
Methods: From 2003 through 2005, 350 8- to 9-year-old boys from Chapaevsk, Russia, with measured OCPs were enrolled and followed annually for 8 years. We used multivariable interval-censored models to evaluate associations of OCPs (quartiles) with three physician-assessed measures of sexual maturity: Tanner stage 5 for genitalia growth, Tanner stage 5 for pubic hair growth, or testicular volume (TV) ≥ 20 mL in either testis.
Results: In adjusted models, boys with higher HCB concentrations achieved sexual maturity reflected by TV ≥ 20 mL a mean of 3.1 months (95% CI: –1.7, 7.8), 5.3 months (95% CI: 0.6, 10.1), and 5.0 months (95% CI: 0.2, 9.8) later for quartiles Q2, Q3, and Q4, respectively, compared with Q1 (p trend = 0.04). Tanner stage 5 for genitalia growth was attained a mean of 2.2 months (95% CI: –3.1, 7.5), 5.7 months (95% CI: 0.4, 11.0), and 3.7 months (95% CI: –1.7, 9.1) later for quartiles Q2, Q3, and Q4, respectively, of βHCH compared with Q1 (p trend = 0.09). Tanner stage 5 for pubic hair growth occurred 6–9 months later on average for boys in the highest versus lowest quartile for HCB (p trend < 0.001), βHCH (trend p = 0.01), and p,p´-DDE (p trend = 0.04). No associations were observed between p,p´-DDE and Tanner stage 5 for genitalia growth or TV ≥ 20 mL.
Conclusions and Relevance: Higher prepubertal serum HCB and βHCH concentrations were associated with a later age at attainment of sexual maturity. Only the highest quartile of serum p,p´-DDE was associated with later pubic hair maturation.
1Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; 2Gradient, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; 3Department of Biostatistics, and 4Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; 5Pediatric Endocrine Division, Department of Pediatrics, and 6Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA; 7Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; 8National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA; 9Department of Genomics and Human Genetics, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; 10Chapaevsk Medical Association, Chapaevsk, Samara Region, Russia; 11Institute for Forecasting, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; 12Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan, School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; 13Environmental Health and Engineering Inc., Needham, Massachusetts, USA; 14EnviroSolutions Consulting Inc., Auburn, Georgia, USA; 15Axys Analytical Solutions, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada; 16Exponent Inc., Maynard, Massachusetts, USA
Recommended Citation:
Thuy Lam,1,2 Paige L. Williams,et al. Prepubertal Serum Concentrations of Organochlorine Pesticides and Age at Sexual Maturity in Russian Boys[J]. Environmental Health Perspectives,2015-01-01,Volume 123(Issue 11):1216