| Breast-Feeding Among Women Exposed to Polybrominated Biphenyls in Michigan Ann R. Thomas,1 Michele Marcus,2,3 Rebecca H. Zhang,4 Heidi Michels Blanck,5 Paige E. Tolbert,3 Vicki Hertzberg,4 Alden K. Henderson,6 and Carol Rubin6 1Epidemiology Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 2Department of Epidemiology, 3Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, and 4Department of Biostatistics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 5Biological and Biomedical Sciences Division, Nutrition and Health Sciences Program, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 6National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Abstract
In the early 1970s, the largest industrial accident in the United States resulted in widespread contamination of the food supply in Michigan with polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) . The chemical similarity of PBBs to compounds implicated as endocrine disruptors has raised the question of whether PBBs could affect the reproductive system. In the present analysis we examine the relation between serum measurements of PBBs and the frequency and duration of lactation. Persons who lived on or received food from farms exposed to PBBs were enrolled in a registry by the Michigan Department of Public Health. Female members of the cohort were invited to participate in a telephone survey of reproductive outcomes. The three outcomes of interest in the present analysis were a) the decision to breast-feed (yes/no) ; b) the duration, in months, of breast-feeding as the main source of nutrition ; and c) the total duration, in months, of breast-feeding. None of the three outcomes was significantly associated with serum PBB levels, even after controlling for maternal age, previous history of breast-feeding, body mass index, maternal education, household income, history of smoking in the year before pregnancy, consumption of alcohol during the first trimester of pregnancy, history of thyroid disorder, gestational age of the infant in weeks, time to pregnancy, and year of birth. Key words: human milk, infants, lactation, pregnancy, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated biphenyls. Environ Health Perspect 109:1133-1137 (2001) . [Online 23 October 2001] http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2001/109p1133-1137thomas/ abstract.html Address correspondence to M. Marcus, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322 USA. Telephone: (404) 727-8010. Fax: (404) 727-8737. E-mail: mmarcus@sph.emory.edu Funding for this research was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (R 825300-01-1) , the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (RO1 ES08341-01) , and by CDC cooperative agreement U37/CCU500392. Received 10 October 2000 ; accepted 25 April 2001.
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