Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Environ Res. 2023 Dec 15;239(Pt 1):117312. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117312. Epub 2023 Oct 6.
Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), a class of endocrine disrupting chemicals, were the main chemicals present in one of the largest industrial accidents in the United States. We investigated the association between serum PBB-153 levels and autoimmune disorders among members of the Michigan PBB Registry.
Eight hundred and ninety-five members of the registry had both a serum PBB-153 measurement and had completed one or more questionnaires about autoimmune disorders. Autoimmune disorders were examined collectively and within specific organ systems. Sex-stratified unadjusted and adjusted log-binomial models were used to examine the association between tertiles of serum PBB-153 levels and autoimmune disorders. Models were adjusted by lifestage at exposure (in utero, childhood, adulthood), smoking history (never, past, current), and total serum lipid levels (continuous). We utilized cubic spline models to investigate non-linearity between serum PBB-153 levels and the prevalence of autoimmune disorders.
Approximately 12.9% and 20.7% of male and female participants reported having one or more autoimmune disorders, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, we observed no association between PBB-153 tertiles and the composite classification of 'any autoimmune disorder' in either sex. We observed some evidence for an association between serum PBB-153 levels and rheumatoid arthritis in males and females; however, this was not statistically significant in females. We also observed some evidence for an association between serum PBB-153 levels and neurological- and thyroid-related autoimmune disorders in females, but again this was not statistically significant. Additionally, we identified dose-response curves for serum PBB-153 levels and the prevalence of autoimmune disorders that differed by lifestage of exposure and sex.
We observed some evidence that increasing serum PBB-153 levels were associated with three specified autoimmune disorders. Studies focusing on these three autoimmune disorders and the potential non-linear trend differences by lifestage of exposure warrant further investigation.
多溴联苯（PBB）是一类内分泌干扰化学物质，是美国最大工业事故之一中主要的化学物质。我们调查了密歇根 PBB 登记处成员血清 PBB-153 水平与自身免疫性疾病之间的关系。
登记处的 895 名成员都进行了血清 PBB-153 测量，并完成了一份或多份关于自身免疫性疾病的问卷。自身免疫性疾病在整体和特定器官系统中进行了检查。采用性别分层未调整和调整后的对数二项式模型来研究血清 PBB-153 水平三分位数与自身免疫性疾病之间的关联。通过暴露时的生命阶段（宫内、儿童、成年）、吸烟史（从未、过去、现在）和总血清脂质水平（连续）来调整模型。我们利用三次样条模型来研究血清 PBB-153 水平与自身免疫性疾病患病率之间的非线性关系。
大约 12.9%和 20.7%的男性和女性参与者分别报告患有一种或多种自身免疫性疾病。在调整了潜在的混杂因素后，我们没有观察到 PBB-153 三分位数与任何性别自身免疫性疾病的综合分类之间存在关联。我们观察到血清 PBB-153 水平与男性和女性类风湿关节炎之间存在关联的一些证据；然而，这在女性中没有统计学意义。我们还观察到血清 PBB-153 水平与女性神经和甲状腺相关自身免疫性疾病之间存在关联的一些证据，但这在统计学上没有意义。此外，我们还确定了血清 PBB-153 水平与自身免疫性疾病患病率之间的剂量反应曲线，这些曲线因暴露的生命阶段和性别而异。
我们观察到一些证据表明，血清 PBB-153 水平升高与三种特定的自身免疫性疾病有关。进一步研究这些三种自身免疫性疾病以及潜在的非线性趋势差异，按暴露的生命阶段进行研究是必要的。
