Postnatal exposure to chlorinated dioxins and related chemicals on thyroid hormone status in Japanese breast-fed infants.

Effects of postnatal exposure to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (Co-PCBs) on thyroid hormone status were studied in the peripheral blood of 36 breast-fed Japanese infants. Estimated total intakes of these chemicals in toxic equivalent quantity (TEQ) converted into 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) from the breast milk significantly and negatively correlated with the levels of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) in the blood of breast-fed babies. Therefore, exposure to background levels of the highly toxic organochlorine chemicals through the breast milk may cause some effects on thyroid hormone status in Japanese infants.