BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may contribute to pre-eclampsia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) as POPs with pre-eclampsia.
METHODS: This case-control study was performed in the three general university hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Serum samples were collected from cases (n = 45) who had diagnosed with preeclampsia and from control samples (n = 70) with normal pregnancy and attended the same hospital for a routine prenatal visit at the third trimester of pregnancy. Pollutants levels were analyzed by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS).
RESULTS: Mean participant age was 27.3 ± 5.39 with median 27. As the main independent variable, total POPs manifested with adjusted OR equal to 1.54 (95 % CI: 1.26-1.87, p-value <0.0001), which was significantly associated with pre-eclampsia. The adjusted OR proved a statistically significant association between total PCBs 1.77 (95 % CI: 1.34-2.32) and total PBDEs (OR = 2.19; 95 % CI: 1.39-3.45, p-value = 0.001) with pre-eclampsia considering confounding variables (maternal age, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), gestational age, weight gain during pregnancy and total lipids in maternal serum). Finally, pre-pregnancy BMI and weight gain during pregnancy had a positive association with pre-eclampsia and gestational age yielded a negative association with pre-eclampsia in all analysis.
CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate the association between total POPs, total PBDEs, and total PCBs with pre-eclampsia, even after controlling for the effects of a number of potentially confounding factors. Further investigation about route of exposure and the trend of POPs especially in pregnant women is needed.

OBJECTIVE: Is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) associated with increased serum levels of typical organic pollutants?
CONCLUSIONS: PCOS in Han females from Northern China was significantly associated with elevated serum levels of pollutants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
BACKGROUND: PCOS is arguably the most common endocrinopathy in females of reproductive age. The etiology of PCOS is thought to be multifactorial.
METHODS: This was a preliminary case-control study undertaken at the Division of Reproductive Center, Peking University Third Hospital. Fifty participants affected by PCOS and 30 normal controls were recruited between August and October 2012 from Northern China. All participants were Han women.
METHODS: PCOS participants were diagnosed according to the 2003 Rotterdam criteria. The control participants were non-pregnant females unable to conceive solely due to male azoospermia. Serum levels of a wide range of organic pollutants, including PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, PAHs and more than 20 phenolic pollutants, were analyzed using gas chromatographic mass spectrometry.
RESULTS: Serum levels of PCBs, pesticides and PAHs were significantly higher in the PCOS group than the control group. Concentrations of PCBs, p,p\'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p\'-DDE) and PAHs in serum above median levels were associated with PCOS with odds ratios of 3.81 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.45-10.0], 4.89 (95% CI, 1.81-13.2) and 2.39 (95% CI, 0.94-6.05), respectively. Partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) confirmed that serum levels of organic pollutants were associated with PCOS, especially for p,p\'-DDE and PCBs.
CONCLUSIONS: Some other possible covariates (e.g. dietary and income) were missed in this study, although education and occupation have been considered as an indicator of personal income. The PLS-DA model allowed a quasi-exposome analysis with over 60 kinds of typical organic pollutants; however, the possibility of other pollutants involved in the PCOS still could not be excluded.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified that bodily retention of environmental organic pollutants-including PCBs, pesticides (especially p,p\'-DDE) and PAHs-was associated with PCOS.
BACKGROUND: This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China Grants (973 program; 2014CB943203 and 2015CB553401), National Natural Science Foundation of China (21322705, 21190051, 41121004 and 81170538), National Key Technology R&D Program in the Twelve Five-Year Plan (2012BAI32B01) and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality. There are no conflicts of interest to declare.
BACKGROUND: None. This is not a clinical trial.