Preconception maternal polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations and the secondary sex ratio
- Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and Prevention Research, National Institutes of Child Health and Development (NICHD), NIH, DHHS, 6100 Executive Blvd, Room 7B03, Rockville, MD 20852 (United States)
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, WG37, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44106-4945 (United States)
- Toxicology Research Center, 134 Cary Hall, University at Buffalo, State of New York, 3434 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14214-3000 (United States)
The secondary sex ratio is the ratio of male to female live births and historically has ranged from 102 to 106 males to 100 females. Temporal declines have been reported in many countries prompting authors to hypothesize an environmental etiology. Blood specimens were obtained from 99 women aged 24-34 prior to attempting pregnancy and quantified for 76 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners using dual column gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Women were prospectively followed until pregnancy or 12 cycles of trying. The odds of a male birth for three PCB groupings (total, estrogenic, anti-estrogenic) controlling for maternal characteristics were estimated using logistic regression. Among the 50 women with live births and PCB data, 26 female and 24 male infants were born (ratio 0.92). After adjusting for age and body mass index, odds of a male birth were elevated among women in the second (OR=1.29) and third (OR=1.48) tertiles of estrogenic PCBs; odds (OR=0.70) were reduced among women in the highest tertile of anti-estrogenic PCBs. All confidence intervals included one. The direction of the odds ratios in this preliminary study varied by PCB groupings, supporting the need to study specific PCB patterns when assessing environmental influences on the secondary sex ratio.
- OSTI ID:
- 20861686
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Research, Vol. 103, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2006.04.009; PII: S0013-9351(06)00082-X; Copyright (c) 2006 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0013-9351
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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