Association between serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants and prevalence of newly diagnosed hypertension: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2002

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have suggested a link between exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and hypertension. Cross-sectional associations of serum POP concentrations with the prevalence of newly diagnosed hypertension were investigated in 524 adult participants aged >/=40 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002. Twenty-one POPs (three polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), three polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), five dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), six dioxin-unlike PCBs and four organochlorine (OC) pesticides) were selected because they were detectable in > or =60% of participants. Serum concentrations of PCDDs and PCDFs were associated with prevalent but newly diagnosed hypertension among women, but not among men. Across quartiles of the sum of category numbers of the three PCDDs and the three PCDFs, adjusted odds ratios in women were 1.0, 4.2 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0-17.1), 4.5 (1.0-19.9) and 5.0 (1.2-21.5) (P for trend=0.08) and 1.0, 2.6 (0.8-9.0), 5.9 (1.7-20.0) and 4.2 (1.3-14.3) (P for trend=0.01), respectively. On the other hand, PCBs tended toward positive association with hypertension only among men. Adjusted odds ratios in men in the highest quartiles of the sum of category numbers of the dioxin-like and non-dioxin-like PCBs were 2.3 (0.8-6.6) and 2.8 (0.9-8.5) (P for trend=0.11 or 0.04), respectively. OC pesticides were not clearly associated with hypertension in either gender. Hypertension had gender-specific associations with serum concentrations of some POPs. Considering the common presence of exposure to POPs in the general population, these findings need to be clarified in prospective studies.

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

“…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]. Other studies using The NHANES data added to evidence by showing an association between selfreported cardiovascular diseases and hypertension with exposure to both dioxin-like PCBs and non-dioxin-like PCBs [8,18]. The higher serum levels of OC pesticides in subjects with PAD compared with those without PAD in this study corroborate the findings of other reports.…”

Dietary exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and risk of myocardial infarction — A population-based prospective cohort study

“…Experimental studies indicate that PCBs cause endothelial cell dysfunction, hyperlipidemia and hypertension that are corner stones in the development of atherosclerosis [2][3][4][5][6][7]. In humans, PCB exposure has been associated with several intermediate risk factors for CVD such as hypertension [8][9][10][11], hyperlipidemia [9,12,13], atherosclerosis [14], and type 2 diabetes [15,16]. Recent prospective epidemiological studies indicate associations with increased risk of stroke [17,18], while studies exploring the association with incidence of myocardial infarction are almost lacking [19].…”

Blood pressure and hypertension in relation to levels of serum polychlorinated biphenyls in residents of Anniston, Alabama

“…Everett et al [13] reported that concentrations of seven of 10 PCB congeners examined were significantly correlated with hypertension, and that those congeners with dioxinlike activity had the highest odds ratios (ORs). Ha et al [14] examined 21 POPs (three dioxins, three furans, five dioxin-like PCBs, six nondioxin-like PCBs, and four organochlorine pesticides). They reported a statistically significant positive relationship between levels of dioxins or furans and hypertension in women, and weaker but still significant relations with both dioxin-like and nondioxin-like PCBs in men.…”