Cancer Risk following Residential Exposure to Airborne Polychlorinated Biphenyls: A Danish Register-Based Cohort Study

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

Dokumenter

  • Fulltext

    Forlagets udgivne version, 200 KB, PDF-dokument

BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are biopersistent chemicals classified as human carcinogens. This classification is primarily based on evidence on higher-chlorinated PCBs found in food. The carcinogenic potential of airborne lower-chlorinated PCBs remains largely unexplored. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate cancer risk following residential exposure to airborne PCBs. METHODS: Cancer risk was examined in the Health Effects of PCBs in Indoor Air (HESPAIR) cohort of 38,613 residents of two partly PCB-contaminated residential areas in Greater Copenhagen, identified by nationwide registries. PCB exposure was based on relocation dates and indoor air PCB measurements in subsets of apartments. Cancer diagnoses were extracted from the Danish Cancer Registry for the follow-up period of 1970– 2018. We estimated adjusted hazard ratios with time-varying cumulative exposure and a 10-y lag using Cox regression. RESULTS: Overall risk of cancer was not associated with PCByear, [hazard ratio (HR) for high-exposed vs. low-exposed = 0:98; 95% confidence inter-val (CI): 0.88, 1.09], but residents exposed to ≥3,000 ng/m3 PCB × year had higher risk of liver cancer (HR = 2:81; 95% CI: 1.28, 6.15) and menin-giomas (HR = 3:49; 95% CI: 1.84, 6.64), with indications of exposure–response relationships. Results were suggestive of a higher risk of pancreatic cancer (HR = 1:59; 95% CI: 0.95, 2.64) at the highest aggregated PCB level. For testis cancer, a higher risk was observed among residents exposed to 300–949 ng/m3 PCB × year relative to residents exposed to <300 ng/m3 PCB × year (HR = 2:97; 95% CI: 1.41, 6.28), but the risk was not higher for residents exposed to ≥950 ng/m3 PCB × year. Apart from this, the risk of specific cancers was similar across exposure groups. DISCUSSION: In this, to our knowledge, first population-based cohort study of residential exposure to airborne PCBs, we found no association between exposure to PCBs in indoor air in private homes and the risk for most of the specific cancers. Higher risk of liver cancer and meningiomas were observed. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10605.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummer107003
TidsskriftEnvironmental Health Perspectives
Vol/bind130
Udgave nummer10
Antal sider10
ISSN0091-6765
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2022

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
This study was funded by The National Building Foundation, Realdania (Ref. No. PRJ-2017-00176), and The Landowners’ Investment Foundation (Ref. No. 18-58). K.S.H.’s contribution to the present study was supported by the Focused Research Effort on Chemicals in the Working Environment (FFIKA) from the Danish Government.

Funding Information:
This study was funded by The National Building Foundation, Realdania (Ref. No. PRJ-2017-00176), and The Landowners’ Investment Foundation (Ref. No. 18-58). K.S.H.’s contribution to the present study was supported by the Focused Research Effort on Chemicals in the Working Environment (FFIKA) from the Danish Government. Funding was acquired by J.P.B., H.W.M., and S.S.T. Material preparation and data collection were performed by S.S.T., L.D., and J.P.B. T.H., M.F., L.G., H.W.M., and H.V.A. provided PCB exposure data and contributed with knowledge of the contaminated buildings. All authors contributed to the study conception and design. S.S.T. and L.D. had full access to and verified the underlying study data. Statistical analyses and first draft of the manuscript were performed by L.D. All authors critically revised several versions of the manuscripts and approved the final manuscript. Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. The authors do not have the permission to share the data used in this study due to data protection regulations. Deidentified individual data are available from Statistics Denmark and The Danish Health and Medicines Authority on reasonable request.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, Public Health Services, US Dept of Health and Human Services. All rights reserved.

ID: 344324596