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Health Effects of PCBs in Residences and Schools (HESPERUS) : PCB - Health Cohort Profile

Bräuner, Elvira Vaclavik ; Andersen, Zorana Jovanovic ; Frederiksen, Marie ; Specht, Ina Olmer ; Hougaard, Karin Sørig ; Ebbehøj, Niels E ; Bailey, Janice ; Giwercman, Aleksander LU ; Steenland, Kyle and Longnecker, Matthew Paul , et al. (2016) In Scientific Reports 6.
Abstract

Polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs) were introduced in the late 1920s and used until the 1970s when they were banned in most countries due to evidence of environmental build-up and possible adverse health effects. However they still persist in the environment, indoors and in humans. Indoor air in contaminated buildings may confer airborne exposure markedly above background regional PCB levels. To date, no epidemiological studies have assessed the health effects from exposure to semi-volatile PCBs in the indoor environment. Indoor air PCBs are generally less chlorinated than PCBs that are absorbed via the diet, or via past occupational exposure; therefore their health effects require separate risk assessment. Two separate cohorts of... (More)

Polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs) were introduced in the late 1920s and used until the 1970s when they were banned in most countries due to evidence of environmental build-up and possible adverse health effects. However they still persist in the environment, indoors and in humans. Indoor air in contaminated buildings may confer airborne exposure markedly above background regional PCB levels. To date, no epidemiological studies have assessed the health effects from exposure to semi-volatile PCBs in the indoor environment. Indoor air PCBs are generally less chlorinated than PCBs that are absorbed via the diet, or via past occupational exposure; therefore their health effects require separate risk assessment. Two separate cohorts of individuals who have either attended schools (n = 66,769; 26% exposed) or lived in apartment buildings (n = 37,185; 19% exposed), where indoor air PCB concentrations have been measured were created. An individual estimate of long-term airborne PCB exposure was assigned based on measurements. The cohorts will be linked to eight different national data sources on mortality, school records, residential history, socioeconomic status, and chronic disease and reproductive outcomes. The linking of indoor air exposures with health outcomes provides a dataset unprecedented worldwide. We describe a project, called HESPERUS (Health Effects of PCBs in Residences and Schools), which will be the first study of the long term health effects of the lower-chlorinated, semi-volatile PCBs in the indoor environment.

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Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Scientific Reports
volume
6
article number
24571
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:27090775
  • wos:000374379900001
  • scopus:84973397886
ISSN
2045-2322
DOI
10.1038/srep24571
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5b61b980-1e87-4e7e-992c-1394b4448d43
date added to LUP
2017-02-06 09:59:11
date last changed
2024-02-29 08:05:27
@article{5b61b980-1e87-4e7e-992c-1394b4448d43,
  abstract     = {{<p>Polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs) were introduced in the late 1920s and used until the 1970s when they were banned in most countries due to evidence of environmental build-up and possible adverse health effects. However they still persist in the environment, indoors and in humans. Indoor air in contaminated buildings may confer airborne exposure markedly above background regional PCB levels. To date, no epidemiological studies have assessed the health effects from exposure to semi-volatile PCBs in the indoor environment. Indoor air PCBs are generally less chlorinated than PCBs that are absorbed via the diet, or via past occupational exposure; therefore their health effects require separate risk assessment. Two separate cohorts of individuals who have either attended schools (n = 66,769; 26% exposed) or lived in apartment buildings (n = 37,185; 19% exposed), where indoor air PCB concentrations have been measured were created. An individual estimate of long-term airborne PCB exposure was assigned based on measurements. The cohorts will be linked to eight different national data sources on mortality, school records, residential history, socioeconomic status, and chronic disease and reproductive outcomes. The linking of indoor air exposures with health outcomes provides a dataset unprecedented worldwide. We describe a project, called HESPERUS (Health Effects of PCBs in Residences and Schools), which will be the first study of the long term health effects of the lower-chlorinated, semi-volatile PCBs in the indoor environment.</p>}},
  author       = {{Bräuner, Elvira Vaclavik and Andersen, Zorana Jovanovic and Frederiksen, Marie and Specht, Ina Olmer and Hougaard, Karin Sørig and Ebbehøj, Niels E and Bailey, Janice and Giwercman, Aleksander and Steenland, Kyle and Longnecker, Matthew Paul and Bonde, Jens-Peter}},
  issn         = {{2045-2322}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Scientific Reports}},
  title        = {{Health Effects of PCBs in Residences and Schools (HESPERUS) : PCB - Health Cohort Profile}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep24571}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/srep24571}},
  volume       = {{6}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}