Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and asthma, eczema/hay fever, and frequent ear infections

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The effects of prenatal exposure to Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the development of asthma, frequent ear infections, and eczema/hay fever are not well understood. We aim to investigate associations between prenatal PCB exposure and these health outcomes in the offspring of women who worked at the LaSalle Electrical Utilities Company (EUC). Methods: A retrospective cohort with at least one live birth and known employment time at EUC was eligible for this analysis. Exposure was defined and categorized by the number of fiscal quarters worked during the PCB era (1952–1981). A total of 288 women with 800 live births were included. A Chi-Square test was used to compare maternal and child characteristics across exposure groups and repeated measures logistic regression, controlling for clustering among siblings, was used to assess the associations between prenatal PCB exposure and these outcomes. Results: After adjustment for confounding and independent maternal predictors, 1–4 quarters of prenatal exposure to PCBs increased the odds for asthma (OR 3.24[1.30–8.09]), eczema/hay fever (OR 3.29[1.54–7.04]), and frequent ear infections (OR 2.24[1.19–4.22]) when compared with persons unexposed/exposed only to naphthalenes. The significance of the associations varied by exposure period and level of exposure, with the strongest associations in those employed exclusively after 1952 when PCBs were introduced. Conclusions: These results support previous findings of associations of prenatal exposure to PCBs with asthma, eczema/hay fever, and frequent ear infections. Additional prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings. Also required are more precise PCB exposures to separate them from other exposures in occupational settings.

KEYWORDS:

• Epidemiology
• morbidity
• mortality

Declaration of interest

No potential conflicts of interest exist with any organizations whose products may be discussed in this article. The writing and content of this paper was solely the responsibility of the named authors.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the workers employed at the LaSalle EUC and their families who participated in this study. We appreciate the support of the LaSalle community at large and the LaSalle EUC Community Assistance Panel (CAP). We would also like to thank the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) staff, Division of Health Studies for their support.

Funding

This work was supported by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) provided to the Illinois Department of Public Health under Cooperative Agreement Number U50/ATU502923 from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.