Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome Associated with Body Burden Levels of Dioxin and Related Compounds among Japan's General Population

• Published in: Environmental health perspectives Vol. 117; no. 4; pp. 568 - 573
• Main Authors: Uemura, Hirokazu, Arisawa, Kokichi, Hiyoshi, Mineyoshi, Kitayama, Atsushi, Takami, Hidenobu, Sawachika, Fusakazu, Dakeshita, Satoru, Nii, Kentaro, Satoh, Hiroshi, Sumiyoshi, Yoshio, Morinaga, Kenji, Kodama, Kazunori, Suzuki, Taka-ichiro, Nagai, Masaki, Suzuki, Tsuguyoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. National Institutes of Health. Department of Health, Education and Welfare 01.04.2009; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
• Subjects: Adjustment; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Benzofurans - blood; Benzofurans - toxicity; Biochemistry; Blood; Blood pressure; Body Burden; Congeners; Copyrights; Cross sections; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; Dioxin; Dioxins; Elevated; Environmental aspects; Environmental Pollutants - blood; Environmental Pollutants - toxicity; Equivalence; Exposure; Fasting; Female; Glucose; Health; Health aspects; High blood pressure; Humans; Hypertension; Japan - epidemiology; Lipid metabolism; Male; Metabolic diseases; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic Syndrome - diagnosis; Metabolic Syndrome - epidemiology; Metabolic syndrome X; Metabolism; Middle Aged; Occupational exposure; PCB; Persistent organic pollutants; Pollutants; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - blood; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - toxicity; Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins - analogs & derivatives; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins - blood; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins - toxicity; Polychlorinated dibenzofurans; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Prevention; Quartiles; Referents; Risk factors; Toxic; Toxicology; Triglycerides; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Young Adult; Japan; USA; dioxins; metabolic syndrome; PCBs; PCDDs; poly-chlorinated biphenyls; PCDFs; polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins; cross-sectional study; polychlorinated dibenzofurans
• ISSN: 0091-6765; 1552-9924; 1552-9924
• DOI: 10.1289/ehp.0800012

Background: Environmental exposure to some persistent organic pollutants has been reported to be associated with metabolic syndrome in the U.S. population. Objectives: We evaluated the associations of body burden levels of dioxins and related compounds with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among the general population in Japan. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 1,374 participants not occupationally exposed to these pollutants, living throughout Japan during 2002-2006. In fasting blood samples, we measured biochemical factors and determined lipid-adjusted concentrations of 10 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), 7 polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and 12 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) all of which have toxic equivalency factors. We also performed a questionnaire survey. Results: The toxic equivalents (TEQs) of PCDDs, PCDFs, and DL-PCBs and total TEQs had significant adjusted associations with metabolic syndrome, whether or not we excluded diabetic subjects. By analyzing each component of metabolic syndrome separately, the DL-PCB TEQs and total TEQs were associated with all components, and the odds ratios (ORs) in the highest quartile of DL-PCB TEQs in four of the five components were higher than those for PCDDs or PCDFs. We also found congener-specific associations with metabolic syndrome; in particular, the highest quartiles of PCB-126 and PCB-105 had adjusted ORs of 9.1 and 7.3, respectively. Conclusions: These results suggest that body burden levels of dioxins and related compounds, particularly those of DL-PCBs, are associated with metabolic syndrome. Of the components, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, and glucose intolerance were most closely associated with these pollutants.