Data from: Association of in utero persistent organic pollutant exposure with placental thyroid hormones

In utero exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can result in thyroid function disorder, leading to concerns about their impact on fetal and neonatal development. The present study was performed to investigate the associations between placental levels of various POPs and thyroid hormones (THs). In a prospective Danish study initially established for assessing congenital cryptorchidism, 58 placenta samples were collected from mothers of boys born with (28) and without (30) cryptorchidism. The concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs), organotin chemicals (OTCs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), thyroxine (T4), 3,3’,5-triiodothyronine (T3), and 3,3’,5’-triiodothyronine (rT3) were measured. The associations between placental THs and various POPs were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Five PBDEs, 35 PCBs, 14 PCDD/Fs, 3 OTCs, 25 OCPs, T4, T3, and rT3 were measured. No correlation between THs and the odds of cryptorchidism was found. Several POPs were significantly associated with THs: a) T4 was inversely associated with BDEs 99, 100, ΣPBDE, and 2378-TeCDD, and positively associated with 1234678-HpCDF; b) T3 was positively associated with 2378-TeCDF and 12378-PeCDF; c) rT3 was positively associated with PCB 81, 12378-PeCDF and 234678-HxCDF, and inversely associated with tributyltin (TBT), ΣOTC, and methoxychlor (MOC). These results revealed that POP exposures were associated with TH levels in placenta, a possible mechanism for the impacts of POP exposures on children’s growth and development. This study provides new insight into the complexity of thyroid-disrupting properties of POPs. More research is needed to elucidate the biological consequences of POP exposures.宫内暴露于持久性有机污染物（persistent organic pollutants, POPs）可引发甲状腺功能紊乱，由此引发了学界对其影响胎儿与新生儿发育的广泛担忧。本研究旨在探究不同持久性有机污染物在胎盘中的含量与甲状腺激素（thyroid hormones, THs）水平之间的关联。本研究依托一项最初为评估先天性隐睾症而设立的前瞻性丹麦研究，共收集了58份胎盘样本，其提供者为分别诞下28名患有先天性隐睾症男婴与30名未患该病男婴的母亲。研究人员测定了多溴联苯醚（polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PBDEs）、多氯联苯（polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs）、多氯代二苯并二噁英/呋喃（polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans, PCDD/Fs）、有机锡化合物（organotin chemicals, OTCs）、有机氯农药（organochlorine pesticides, OCPs）的浓度，以及甲状腺素（thyroxine, T4）、3,3’,5-三碘甲状腺原氨酸（3,3’,5-triiodothyronine, T3）与反三碘甲状腺原氨酸（3,3’,5’-triiodothyronine, rT3）的水平。研究采用多元线性回归分析了胎盘组织中甲状腺激素与各类持久性有机污染物之间的关联。本次研究共测定了5种多溴联苯醚、35种多氯联苯、14种多氯代二苯并二噁英/呋喃、3种有机锡化合物、25种有机氯农药，以及T4、T3与rT3的水平。未观察到甲状腺激素水平与隐睾症患病风险之间存在相关性。但多项持久性有机污染物与甲状腺激素水平存在显著关联：a) T4水平与BDE 99、BDE 100、总多溴联苯醚（ΣPBDE）及2,3,7,8-四氯代二苯并二噁英（2378-TeCDD）呈负相关，与1,2,3,4,6,7,8-七氯代二苯并呋喃（1234678-HpCDF）呈正相关；b) T3水平与2,3,7,8-四氯代二苯并呋喃（2378-TeCDF）及1,2,3,7,8-五氯代二苯并呋喃（12378-PeCDF）呈正相关；c) rT3水平与PCB 81、1,2,3,7,8-五氯代二苯并呋喃（12378-PeCDF）及2,3,4,6,7,8-六氯代二苯并呋喃（234678-HxCDF）呈正相关，与三丁基锡（tributyltin, TBT）、总有机锡化合物（ΣOTC）及甲氧滴滴涕（methoxychlor, MOC）呈负相关。本研究结果显示，持久性有机污染物暴露与胎盘中的甲状腺激素水平存在关联，这或为持久性有机污染物暴露影响儿童生长发育的潜在生物学机制。本研究为阐明持久性有机污染物的甲状腺干扰特性的复杂性提供了新的视角，未来仍需开展更多研究以明确持久性有机污染物暴露所产生的生物学效应。