Association of DDT and heptachlor epoxide in human blood with diabetic nephropathy
-
Charles J. Everett
and
Olivia M. Thompson
Abstract
Six organochlorine pesticides and pesticide metabolites in human blood were tested to determine their relationships with diabetic nephropathy. The data were derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2004 (unweighted, n=2992, population estimate=133,088,752). The six chemicals were p,p′-DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), p,p′-DDE (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethylene), beta-hexachlorocyclohexane, oxychlordane, trans-nonachlor and heptachlor epoxide. In this research, total diabetes included diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes (glycohemoglobin, A1c ≥6.5%), and nephropathy was defined as a urinary albumin to creatinine ratio >30 mg/g, representing microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria. The pesticide p,p′-DDT and pesticide metabolite heptachlor epoxide were significantly associated with total diabetes with nephropathy, with odds ratios of 2.08 (95% CI 1.06–4.11) and 1.75 (95% CI 1.05–2.93), respectively. Organochlorine pesticides are thought to act through the constitutive androstane receptor/pregnane X receptor disease pathway, but this is not well established. When p,p′-DDT and heptachlor epoxide were both elevated, the odds ratio for diabetic nephropathy was 2.76 (95% CI 1.31–5.81), and when six of six organochlorine pesticides and pesticide metabolites, were elevated, the odds ratio for diabetic nephropathy was 3.00 (95% CI 1.08–8.36). The differences in the odds ratios for these groups appear to be due to differences in the mean heptachlor epoxide concentration of each category. Organochlorine pesticides and pesticide metabolites are known to have estrogenic, antiestrogenic or antiandrogenic activity. The constitutive androstane receptor/pregnane X receptor pathway is thought to interact with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway, and the associations noted may be due to that interaction.
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©2015 by De Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Exposure to and health effects of volatile PCBs
- Association of DDT and heptachlor epoxide in human blood with diabetic nephropathy
- Scientific evidence contradicts findings and assumptions of Canadian Safety Panel 6: microwaves act through voltage-gated calcium channel activation to induce biological impacts at non-thermal levels, supporting a paradigm shift for microwave/lower frequency electromagnetic field action
- The 2008/2009 cholera outbreak in Harare, Zimbabwe: case of failure in urban environmental health and planning
- Development of banana-based weaning food mixes for infants and its nutritional quality evaluation
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Exposure to and health effects of volatile PCBs
- Association of DDT and heptachlor epoxide in human blood with diabetic nephropathy
- Scientific evidence contradicts findings and assumptions of Canadian Safety Panel 6: microwaves act through voltage-gated calcium channel activation to induce biological impacts at non-thermal levels, supporting a paradigm shift for microwave/lower frequency electromagnetic field action
- The 2008/2009 cholera outbreak in Harare, Zimbabwe: case of failure in urban environmental health and planning
- Development of banana-based weaning food mixes for infants and its nutritional quality evaluation
