Exposure to Heavy Metals and Hormone Levels in Midlife Women: The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN)

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ding N ; Gold EB ; Harlow SD ; Mukherjee B ; Park SK ; Randolph JF Jr. ; Wang X
• Description:
  Exposure to heavy metals may alter the circulating levels of sex hormones. However, epidemiologic studies on heavy metals and sex hormones have been limited, and results have been inconsistent. We assessed the associations of heavy metals assayed in urine, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury, with repeated measures of serum estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation Multi-Pollutant Study. The sample included 1355 White, Black, Chinese, and Japanese women, aged 45-56 years at baseline (1999-2000), whose serum hormone levels were repeatedly measured through 2017. Urinary metal concentrations were measured at baseline. Linear mixed effect models were used to calculate percent changes in serum hormone levels per doubling of urinary metal concentrations, adjusting for demographics, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, health-related factors, and urinary creatinine. After multivariable adjustment, a doubling of urinary metal concentration was associated with lower E2 levels by 2.2% (95% CI: 4.0%, -0.3%) for mercury and 3.6% (95% CI: 5.7%, -1.6%) for lead; higher FSH levels by 3.4% (95% CI: 0.9%, 5.9%) for lead; and higher SHBG levels by 3.6% (95% CI: 1.3%, 5.9%) for cadmium. The overall joint effect using the Bayesian kernel machine regression showed that metal mixtures were inversely associated with E2 and positively associated with FSH levels. No association was found between metals and testosterone levels. Results from this prospective cohort study demonstrate that environmental heavy metal exposures, including cadmium, mercury, and lead, may disturb circulating levels of E2, FSH, and SHBG in midlife women. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Arsenic Cadmium Cohort Studies Endocrine System Environmental Exposure Epidemiology Inorganic Chemicals Lead Mercury Metals, Heavy Occupational Health Safety Women

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Heavy Metals Cohort Studies Environmental Exposure Heavy Metals Hormone Activity Hormones Longitudinal Study Sex Hormones
• ISSN:
  0269-7491
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Michigan ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  317
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066899
• Citation:
  Environ Pollut 2023 Jan; 317:120740
• Contact Point Address:
  Sung Kyun Park, Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, M5541 SPH II, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2029, United States
• Email:
  sungkyun@umich.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Arsenic (CAS RN 7440-38-2) ; Cadmium (CAS RN 7440-43-9) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Pollution
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7a381029b07e722b91295b2121eabb2a7b423c44f83db4d70cb5aa01b197b411879d7a1c1e5415a09f7f3ff6b360308e9ed0621eb033cc887b6c475e326d2b7a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231194/cdc_231194_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1001.69 KB ]