Organochlorine exposure and the risk of endometriosis.

OBJECTIVE

To compare mean concentrations of organochlorine in women with a new diagnosis of endometriosis and in controls.

DESIGN

Case-control study.

SETTING

Women attending an institutional clinic of reproductive endocrinology.

PATIENT(S): Cases and controls were selected among women who underwent laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain, infertility, or tubal fulguration between January 1994 and December 1994. Eighty-six women with endometriosis and 70 controls, matched for the indication for laparoscopy, were recruited.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Mean organochlorine plasma concentrations of 14 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and 11 chlorinated pesticides were compared between the cases and controls. Analysis of covariance was used to adjust means for confounding variables, and odds ratios were estimated by logistic regression.

RESULT(S): Crude geometric mean concentrations did not differ significantly between cases and controls for any of the organochlorine compounds. Similarly, crude or adjusted means of the sum of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, the sum of chlordanes, or the sum of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes did not differ between the groups. There was no significant linear trend in the adjusted odds ratios for endometriosis as organochlorine concentrations increased.

CONCLUSION(S): These results suggest that exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and chlorinated pesticides during adulthood is not associated with endometriosis in the general population.