Effect of intensive occupational exposure to DDT on phenylbutazone and cortisol metabolism in human subjects.

Abstract

The effect of intensive occupational exposure to DDT on drug and steroid metabolism was studied. The concentration of DDT‐related substances in the serum and fat of DDT factory workers was 20 to 30 times that in a control population. The serum half‐life of phenylbutazone was 19 per cent lower (p < 0.01) and the urinary excretion of 6ß‐ hydroxycortisol was 57 per cent higher (p < 0.01) in the DDT factory workers. There were considerable variations in the phenylbutazone half‐life in different people, and there were also individual differences in the urinary excretion of 6ß‐hydroxycOrfisol. The variability in these parameters found in the DDT factory workers or in the control population was, however, not correlated with the concentration of DDT in the serum. Although we do not know whether DDT storage in the general population is sufficient to increase phenylbutazone metabolism or the urinary excretion of 6B‐hydroxycOrfisol, our results suggest that the extent of possible changes in these parameters would be small.