Telomere Science Library

Publications, Presentations, and Videos
about the Nobel-Prize Winning Science of Telomere Biology

Cross-Sectional Associations between Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants and Leukocyte Telomere Length among U.S. Adults in NHANES, 2001-2002.

telomere length

Authors: Susanna D SD. Mitro, Linda S LS. Birnbaum, Belinda L BL. Needham, Ami R AR. Zota
Published: 10/09/2015, Environmental health perspectives

Background

Exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as dioxins, furans, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may influence leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a biomarker associated with chronic disease. In vitro research suggests dioxins may bind to the AhR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor) and induce telomerase activity, which elongates LTL. However, few epidemiologic studies have investigated associations between POPs and LTL.

Objectives

We examined the association between 18 PCBs, 7 dioxins, 9 furans, and LTL among 1,330 US adults from NHANES 2001-2002.

Methods

We created 3 summed POP metrics based on toxic equivalency factor (TEF), a potency measure including affinity to the AhR: 1) non-dioxin-like PCBs (comprised of 10 non-dioxin-like PCBs; no AhR affinity and no TEF); 2) non-ortho PCBs (comprised of 2 non-ortho-substituted PCBs with high TEF); 3) and toxic equivalency (TEQ) (comprised of 7 dioxins, 9 furans, 2 non-ortho-substituted PCBs, and 6 mono-ortho-substituted PCBs; weighted by TEF). We tested the association between each metric and LTL using linear regression, adjusting for demographics, blood cell count and distribution, and another metric with a different TEF (i.e., non-ortho PCBs and TEQ adjusted for non-dioxin-like PCBs; non-dioxin-like PCBs adjusted for non-ortho PCBs).

Results

In adjusted models, each doubling of serum concentrations of non-ortho PCBs and TEQ was associated with 3.74% (95% CI: 2.10, 5.40) and 5.29% (95% CI: 1.66, 9.05) longer LTLs, respectively. Compared to the lowest quartile, the highest quartile of exposure was associated with 9.16% (95% CI: 2.96, 15.73) and 7.84% (95% CI: -0.53, 16.92) longer LTLs, respectively. Non-dioxin-like PCBs were not associated with LTL.

Conclusions

POPs with high TEFs and AhR affinity were associated with longer LTL. Because many dioxin-associated cancers are also associated with longer LTL, these results may provide insight into the mechanisms underlying PCB and dioxin-related carcinogenesis.

PubMed Full Text