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Flame-retardant exposure increases thyroid disease risk in women
High blood levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, a common type of flame retardant, may increase the risk for thyroid problems in women, with the effect more pronounced after menopause, according to study findings published in Environmental Health.
Joseph G. Allen, MPH, DSc, assistant professor of exposure assessment science at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues evaluated data from women participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2004 cycle to determine the link between thyroid disease and PBDE exposures, particularly to BDE 47 (n = 1,396), BDE 99 (n = 1,378), BDE 100 (n = 1,413) and BDE 153 (n = 1,413). During the survey, participants were asked to indicate whether a doctor or health care professional had said the participant had a thyroid disease and whether the participant still had a thyroid problem.
Postmenopausal participants were twice as likely to report ever having a thyroid problem (P < .05) and to currently having a thyroid problem (P < .1) compared with premenopausal participants. Compared with participants in the lowest quartiles of serum concentrations, participants in the highest quartile of serum concentrations for BDE 47 (OR = 1.48; 95% CI, 1.05-2.09), BDE 99 (OR = 1.78; 95% CI, 1.16-2.75) and BDE 100 (OR = 1.5; 95% CI, 0.97-2.31) had greater odds of currently having a thyroid problem.
When the analysis was restricted to postmenopausal participants, the ORs for participants in the highest exposure category were greater for all PBDE congeners except BDE 153.
“Perhaps the most striking and unique finding in this study is that the odds of having a current thyroid problem associated with PBDEs are so much higher in postmenopausal women,” the researchers wrote. “One hypothesis is that this is related to the change in hormone concentrations in postmenopausal women and the affinity of PBDEs to binding sites for both estrogen and thyroid hormones.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.