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Correlations among human blood levels of specific PCB congeners and implications for epidemiologic studies
Author(s) -
DeVoto Emily,
Fiore Beth J.,
Millikan Robert,
Anderson Henry A.,
Sheldon Linda,
Sonzogni William C.,
Longnecker Matthew P.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199712)32:6<606::aid-ajim6>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - congener , medicine , fish <actinopterygii> , toxicology , environmental chemistry , biology , fishery , chemistry
Specific congeners of PCBs may differ with respect to their human health risks. For epidemiologic studies, however, measuring levels of specific congeners—as compared with estimating the concentration of total PCBs present, may be of limited value if levels of specific congeners are highly correlated. We examined the correlations among levels of specific congeners in three groups: controls from a case‐control study of breast cancer in North Carolina and two groups from Wisconsin with exposure to fish from contaminated waters. Levels of specific congeners were, in general, highly correlated (Pearson r > 0.80). However, the level of congener 180, a heptachlorobiphenyl, tended to be less correlated with levels of lower‐chlorinated biphenyls. Among the implications of these findings are that measurement of a select group of congeners may yield essentially the same information as measurement of a large panel, and may be more cost efficient. Am. J. Ind. Med. 32:606–613, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.