Serum Levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Insulin Secretion among Children Age 7–9 Years: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Background:Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are endocrine disruptors and have been suggested as possible risk factors for diabetes. Few studies have been performed to investigate this association among children.Objectives:In this study, we prospectively examined the relationship between the serum concentration of POPs and glucose metabolism in children.Methods:Data were collected from the Ewha Birth & Growth Cohort Study, an ongoing birth cohort study initially constructed between 2001 and 2006. In 2010–2012, the POP concentration was measured in serum from a total of 214 children, 7–9 years of age. Using fasting glucose and insulin measurements at both baseline and the second year of follow-up, the homeostatic model assessment of beta-cell function (HOMA-β) and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were calculated. Multiple linear regression analysis and a linear mixed-effects model were used to determine the relationship between POP tertiles and metabolic biomarkers.Results:Compared with the lowest tertile of total marker PCBs, participants in the third tertile had decreased HOMA-β values, after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index z-score, mother’s education, ponderal index, and history of breastfeeding (–18.94%; 95% CI: –32.97%, –1.98%). In a linear mixed model, the HOMA-β values were still lower in subjects in the highest compared with the lowest tertile of total PCBs at the 2-year follow-up period (108.3 vs. 135.0, respectively).Conclusion:The results of the study suggested that exposure to POPs among children might affect insulin secretory function, which could lead to an increased risk of developing diabetes.Citation:Park SH, Ha EH, Hong YS, Park H. 2016. Serum levels of persistent organic pollutants and insulin secretion among children age 7–9 years: a prospective cohort study. Environ Health Perspect 124:1924–1930; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP147

Low-Dose Persistent Organic Pollutants Impair Insulin Secretory Function of Pancreatic β-Cells: Human and In Vitro Evidence

“…Although epidemiological and experimental studies have revealed the relationship of POPs with IR (6,7), some human studies have suggested that direct toxicity of POPs to b-cells (rather than to decreased peripheral insulin sensitivity) may be a more plausible mechanism linking POPs and T2D (8)(9)(10). For example, serum concentrations of POPs were related to the markers of b-cell dysfunction (e.g., HOMA-b and 2-h insulin after oral glucose tolerance test [OGTT]), not IR markers among Greenland Inuit without diabetes (9).…”

Serum persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and prostate cancer risk: A case-cohort study

“…Quality control serum samples were incorporated in each batch of 15 samples. The recoveries of the internal standards were satisfactory, in general ranging from 50 to 120% (Park et al, 2016). The relative standard deviation of the quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) samples was <15% for all compounds that were presented above the limit of detection (LOD) in the QA/QC samples.…”

“…The detailed methodology of the POPs analyses was described previously (Park et al, , 2016. Isotopic substitution method was used in this study (U.S. EPA, 1994;Dmitrovic et al, 2002;Muir and Sverko, 2006).…”

“…In Korea, although POPs have been regulated since 2008, their long half-lives have resulted in the residual presence in several foods and persistence in the human blood (Park et al, , 2016. Nevertheless, the association between POPs and prostate cancer has not been studied in Korea.…”

Endocrine Disruptors: A Potential Risk Factor for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

“…In this review, we will therefore focus on BPA and phenols when referring to EDCs. [6][7][8][9][10] The association between BPA and T2DM has been investigated in both epidemiological and animal studies. [11][12][13] There is, however, a dearth of studies examining the association between phenols and other EDCs and GDM.…”