Relationship Between Serum Concentrations of Organochlorine Pesticides and Metabolic Syndrome Among Non-Diabetic Adults.

Park, Sun Kyun; Son, Hyo Kyung; Lee, Sung Kook; Kang, Jung Ho; Chang, Yoon Seok; Jacobs, David R; Lee, Duk Hee

doi:2010.43.1.1

J Prev Med Public Health > Volume 43(1); 2010 > Article

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health 2010;43(1): 1-8. doi: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2010.43.1.1

Relationship Between Serum Concentrations of Organochlorine Pesticides and Metabolic Syndrome Among Non-Diabetic Adults.

Sun Kyun Park, Hyo Kyung Son, Sung Kook Lee, Jung Ho Kang, Yoon Seok Chang, David R Jacobs, Duk Hee Lee

¹Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Korea. lee_dh@knu.ac.kr
²Daegu-Gyeongbuk Cardiocerebrovascular Center, Korea.
³Department of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, CHA Gumi Medical Center, CHA University, Korea.
⁴School of Environmental Science and Engineering, POSTECH, Korea.
⁵Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minnesota, USA.
⁶Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to investigate if organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance among non-diabetes. METHODS: Among subjects who participated in a community-based health survey, 50 non-diabetic subjects with metabolic syndrome and 50 normal controls were selected. Insulin resistance was measured by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). Eight OCPs were selected. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders except for body mass index (BMI), beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (beta-HCH) and heptachlor epoxide were positively associated with metabolic syndrome. Odds ratios across tertiles of beta-HCH and heptachlor epoxide were 1.0, 3.2 and 4.4, and 1.0, 4.0 and 6.0, respectively (p for trend = 0.01 and <0.01). After additional adjustment for body mass index (BMI), heptachlor epoxide still showed an increasing trend with adjusted odds ratios of 1.0, 4.1, and 4.6 (p for trend = 0.10). When the five components of metabolic syndrome (with the definition of high fasting glucose (> or =100 mg/dL)) were separately analyzed, all components were positively, but not significantly, associated with heptachlor epoxide. As the serum concentration of heptachlor epoxide increased, HOMA-IR increased significantly in subjects with metabolic syndrome even after adjusting for BMI (p value <0.05 and <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the small sample size, this study suggests that the background exposure to some OCPs may be associated with metabolic syndrome.

Key words: Organochlorine compounds; Environmental pollutants; Persistent organic pollutants; Metabolic syndrome X; Insulin resistance; Obesity