ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Sweden.
Environ Res. 2024 Dec 15;263(Pt 1):120054. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.120054. Epub 2024 Sep 26.
Effects of environmental contaminants (ECs) on endocrine systems have been reported, but few studies assessed associations between ECs and sex hormones (SH) in elderly. Aim of this study was to investigate whether blood concentrations of four classes of ECs were associated with SH concentrations in elderly.
Samples from participants of the cross-sectional population-based Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors study (PIVUS, 70-year-old men and women, n = 1016) were analyzed using validated mass spectrometry-based methods for SH (testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), estrone and estradiol (E2)); 23 persistent organic pollutants (POPs); 8 perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); 4 phthalates and 11 metals. SH binding globulin (SHBG) was analyzed using immunoassay. The measured concentrations were normalized, and the values converted to a z-scale. Linear regression analyses were conducted to assess association between concentration of the SH, SHBG and E2/T (aromatase enzyme index, AEI) with the ECs. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to model the relationships.
The strongest associations were observed with the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In men, the strongest associations with concentrations of SH and SHBG were seen for PCBs containing >5 chlorine, monoethyl phthalate (MEP), Ni and Cd; and in women, with PCBs, MEP, several of the PFAS, Cd, Co, and Ni. Difference in the effect of ECs on AEI between men and women were observed. Area under the ROC curve for the models predicting abnormal values of SH and SHBG >0.75 due to the effects of ECs was observed for T, DHT, and E2 in men, and for E2 and SHBG in women.
Results of this study suggest that in elderly subjects, concentrations of many ECs associated with concentrations of SH and SHBG, and AEI. Further studies are needed to confirm the findings and to assess effect of the pollutants on endocrine system function in elderly.
已有研究报道环境污染物（ECs）对内分泌系统的影响，但很少有研究评估 ECs 与老年人性激素（SH）之间的关系。本研究旨在探讨四类 ECs 血浓度与老年人 SH 浓度之间是否存在相关性。
采用经验证的基于质谱的方法对参加横断面人群基础乌普萨拉老年人血管研究（PIVUS，70 岁男性和女性，n=1016）的参与者样本进行分析，检测 SH（睾酮（T）、二氢睾酮（DHT）、雌酮和雌二醇（E2））；23 种持久性有机污染物（POPs）；8 种全氟烷基物质（PFAS）；4 种邻苯二甲酸酯和 11 种金属。采用免疫分析法检测 SH 结合球蛋白（SHBG）。对测量浓度进行归一化，并将值转换为 z 标度。采用线性回归分析评估 SH、SHBG 和 E2/T（芳香化酶酶指数，AEI）与 ECs 之间的浓度关系。采用多元线性回归分析来建立模型。
多氯联苯（PCBs）的相关性最强。在男性中，与 SH 和 SHBG 浓度相关性最强的是含>5 个氯的 PCBs、单乙基邻苯二甲酸酯（MEP）、Ni 和 Cd；而在女性中，与 PCBs、MEP、几种 PFAS、Cd、Co 和 Ni 相关性最强。观察到 ECs 对 AEI 的影响在男性和女性之间存在差异。由于 ECs 的影响，预测 SH 和 SHBG>0.75 的异常值的模型的 ROC 曲线下面积观察到 T、DHT 和 E2 在男性中，E2 和 SHBG 在女性中。
本研究结果表明，在老年受试者中，许多 ECs 的浓度与 SH 和 SHBG 浓度以及 AEI 相关。需要进一步的研究来证实这些发现，并评估污染物对老年人内分泌系统功能的影响。
