Exposure to Polychlorinated Dioxins and Furans (PCDD/F) and Mortality in a Cohort of Workers from a Herbicide-producing Plant in Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract

The relation between mortality (all cause; cancer; cardiovascular diseases (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9), codes 390-459); ischemic heart diseases (ICD-9 codes 410-414)) and exposure to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and -furans (PCDD/F) was investigated in a retrospective cohort study. The cohort consisted of 1,189 male workers in a chemical plant in Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany, who had produced phenoxy herbicides, chlorophenols, and other herbicides and insecticides known to be contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and other, higher chlorinated dioxins and furans. The authors reported previously on cancer mortality in this cohort for the follow-up period 1952-1989. The current study covers the years 1952-1992 and investigates the relation of PCDD/F exposure to mortality using a quantitative estimate of PCDD/F exposure for the whole cohort derived from blood and adipose tissue levels measured in a subgroup (n = 190). Quintiles and deciles of these estimates served as dose parameters in the estimation of relative risks (RRs), using year-of-birth stratified Cox regression. An unexposed cohort of gas workers served as an external reference group. The total mortality was elevated in all dose groups. The highest relative risk was observed for the highest 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) decile (RR = 2.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.80 to 3.29). Cancer mortality and mortality due to ischemic heart diseases showed a dose-dependent relation with TCDD and all PCDD/F combined. The highest relative risks for cancer (RR = 3.30, 95% CI 2.05 to 5.31) and ischemic heart diseases (RR = 2.48, 95% CI 1.32 to 4.66) were observed in the highest PCDD/F exposure group. The pattern of effects and tests for trend were similar when the lowest exposure group within the chemical worker cohort served as the reference, but the relative risks were smaller and the confidence intervals were larger. Potential confounding exposures complicate the interpretation of the internal comparison. These findings indicate a strong dose-dependent relation between mortality due to cancer or ischemic heart diseases and exposure to polychlorinated dioxins and furans.

High serum PCBs are associated with elevation of serum lipids and cardiovascular disease in a Native American population

“…A similar elevation in mortality from cardiovascular disease has been reported in occupational studies of dioxin-exposed workers (Flesch-Janys et al, 1995;Vena et al, 1998) and Seveso residents exposed to dioxin releases Pesatori et al, 1998). Sergeev and Carpenter (2005), examining rates of hospitalization for cardiovascular disease and acute myocardial infarction in residents living in zip codes containing or abutting hazardous waste sites contaminated with persistent organic pollutants, found statistically significant elevations of cardiovascular disease compared to populations not living near such waste sites.…”

Serum concentrations of chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, furans and PCBs, among former phenoxy herbicide production workers and firefighters in New Zealand

“…TCDD serum concentrations reported for TCDD-exposed populations, ordered by year of serum sampling, are listed in Table 6. This indicates that the New Zealand serum concentrations back-calculated to 1987 are lower than those reported for the USA (Fingerhut et al 1991) and Russian (Ryan and Schecter 2000) production workers, while comparable to levels reported for German (Flesch-Janys et al 1995), Dutch (Heederik et al 1998) and US Michigan (Collins et al 2007) production workers. The New Zealand mean TCDD serum concentrations determined in 2007/2008 are also comparable with those reported for 777 US Air Force veterans of Operation Ranch Hand tested in 2002 (Pavuk et al 2014).…”

Potential role for organochlorine pesticides in the prevalence of peripheral arterial diseases in obese persons: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2004

“…Many epidemiologic studies have supported the notion that exposures to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. For example, persons having high concentrations of POPs such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzop-dioxin (TCDD) due to occupational or accidental exposures showed weakly or modestly elevated mortality due to cardiovascular events [12][13][14][15][16]. More recently, other studies have shown that residents living near areas contaminated with POPs had greater incidences of heart diseases and hypertension than those living in relatively clean areas [9,17].…”