Abstract
To identify bioaccumulation patterns of α-, β- hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and dicofol in relation to sociodemographic, dietary, and lifestyle factors, adipose tissue samples of 387 subjects from GraMo cohort in Southern Spain were analyzed. Potential predictors of these organochlorine pesticides (OCP) levels were collected by face-to-face interviews and assessed by multivariable linear and logistic regression. OCPs were detected in 84.2% (β-HCH), 21.7% (α-HCH), and 19.6% (dicofol) of the population. β-HCH levels were positively related to age, body mass index (BMI), mother’s occupation in agriculture during pregnancy, living in Poniente and Alpujarras, white fish, milk and water consumption, and negatively related to being male, living near to an agricultural area, working ≥10 years in agriculture, and beer consumption. Detectable α-HCH levels were positively related to age, BMI, milk consumption, mother’s occupation in agriculture during pregnancy, and negatively with residence in Poniente and Alpujarras, Granada city, and Granada Metropolitan Area. Residence near to an agricultural area, smoking habit, white fish and water consumption, and living in Poniente and Alpujarras, Granada city and Granada Metropolitan Area were negatively associated with detectable dicofol levels. Our study revealed different bioaccumulation patterns of α, β-HCH and dicofol, probably due to their dissimilar period of use, and emphasize the need for assessing the exposure to frequently overlooked pollutants.
Highlights
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a heterogeneous group of toxic chemicals that are highly resistant to biological degradation with a high bioaccumulation potential in living organisms, so it is believed that internal body burden of certain POPs increases over life span [1,2]
The present research was prompted by our previous findings on differential predictors of other organochlorine pesticides (OCP) concentrations in this cohort, as well as their potential long-term health effects that might be produced as a consequence of the exposure to individual chemicals, and to mixtures of them [17,22,36,38,50]
A summary of human biomonitoring (HBM) studies on α-HCH, β-HCH, and dicofol concentrations published during the last 10 years is shown in Supplementary Material, Table S5
Summary
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a heterogeneous group of toxic chemicals that are highly resistant to biological degradation with a high bioaccumulation potential in living organisms, so it is believed that internal body burden of certain POPs increases over life span [1,2]. This continuous exposure might pose relevant risks to human health, since POP exposure is suspected to increase the risk of certain chronic and highly prevalent conditions, e.g., type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer [3].
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