Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may partly explain unhealthy metabolic phenotypes in normal-weight, overweight and obese individuals.

New findings on #POPs and unhealthy #metabolic phenotypes #EDCs #obesity @MiquelPorta

Free access to the article abstract:  https://goo.gl/ftn3Zp

Just published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

zerospinzone:  PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS ASSOCIATED

WITH METABOLIC ABNORMALITIES IN SEEMINGLY HEALTHY PEOPLE

A B S T R A C T

Factors underlying metabolic phenotypes, such as the metabolically healthy but obese phenotype, remain unclear. Differences in metabolic phenotypes –particularly, among individuals with a similar body mass index– could be related to concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). No studies have analyzed POPs and metabolic phenotypes in normal-weight persons.

The authors investigated the relationships between serum concentrations of POPs and metabolic phenotypes in 860 normal-weight, overweight, and obese participants in the 2002 Catalan Health Interview Survey (Spain).

POP concentrations were significantly higher in metabolically unhealthy than in metabolically healthy individuals. In models adjusted for body mass index and other confounders, hexachlorobenzene, beta-hexachlorocyclohexane and polychlorinated biphenyls were associated with the unhealthy metabolic phenotype and the metabolic syndrome. Among normal-weight individuals, the adjusted prevalence ratio of having an unhealthy phenotype for the upper category of the sum of orders of the mentioned POPs was 4.1 (95% confidence interval: 1.7, 10.0). Among overweight and obese individuals, the corresponding prevalence ratio for the sum of polychlorinated biphenyls was 1.4 (95% confidence interval: 1.0, 1.8).

Findings support the hypothesis that POP concentrations are associated with unhealthy metabolic phenotypes, and not only in obese and overweight individuals but also (and probably more strongly) in normal-weight individuals.

The full article is not open access because we do not have the funds for this purpose.  

reference / citation:

Gasull M, Castell C, Pallarès N, Miret C, Pumarega J, Téllez-Plaza M, López T, Salas-Salvadó J, Lee DH, Goday A, Porta M. Blood concentrations of persistent organic pollutants and unhealthy metabolic phenotypes in normal-weight, overweight and obese individuals. American Journal of Epidemiology 2017.