Skip Navigation


Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on November 7, 2007
Human Reproduction 2008 23(1):193-200; doi:10.1093/humrep/dem349
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
23/1/193    most recent
dem349v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Toft, G.
Right arrow Articles by Bonde, J.P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Toft, G.
Right arrow Articles by Bonde, J.P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Menstrual cycle characteristics in European and Inuit women exposed to persistent organochlorine pollutants

G. Toft1,4, A. Axmon2, C.H. Lindh2, A. Giwercman3 and J.P. Bonde1

1 Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Noerrebrogade 44, Build 2C, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark 2 Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and Psychiatric Epidemiology, Lund University Hospital, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden 3 Fertility Centre, Malmö University Hospital, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden

4 Correspondence address. Tel: +45-89494251; Fax: +45-89494260; E-mail: gutof{at}as.aaa.dk

BACKGROUND: Previous inconsistent results suggest that menstrual cycles may be disturbed by exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)-ethylene (DDE).

METHODS: Information on menstrual cycle characteristics were obtained by questionnaires, and PCB and DDE were measured in serum samples from a total of 1494 women from Greenland, Swedish fishermen’s wives, and inhabitants of Warsaw in Poland and Kharkiv in Ukraine.

RESULTS: No consistent effects of PCB and DDE exposure on menstrual cycle characteristics were observed across populations. Within populations, we observed increased risks of short cycles (≤24 days) among Swedish fishermen’s wives exposed to high levels of PCB [odds ratio (OR) 2.5, confidence interval (CI) 1.2–5.1], and increased risk of long cycles (≥32 days) among Polish women exposed to high levels of DDE (OR 3.1, CI 1.1–8.6). However, in Greenland it seemed that high levels of PCB or DDE were protective against long menstrual cycles (OR 0.7 CI 0.5–0.96 and OR 0.7 CI 0.5–0.99, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: It is unlikely that exposure to PCB and DDE is a main cause of menstrual disturbances. Genetic differences or dietary factors may be involved in the non-homogenous associations of organochlorine exposure and menstrual cycle between countries.

Key words: contaminants/endocrine disruptors/irregularity/menses

Submitted on May 3, 2007; resubmitted on September 13, 2007; accepted on September 18, 2007.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.