Reproductive hormone profile and pubertal development in 14-year-old boys prenatally exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls

Because polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are thought to cause endocrine disruption, we examined 438 adolescent boys from a birth cohort in the Faroe Islands, where PCB exposures are elevated. We measured PCBs and p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) in cord blood and in serum from clinical examination at age 14. Higher prenatal PCB exposure was associated with lower serum concentrations of both luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone. In addition, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) was positively associated with both prenatal and concurrent PCB exposures. The PCB–SHBG association was robust to covariate adjustment. In a structural equation model, a doubling in prenatal PCB exposure was associated with a decrease in LH of 6% (p = 0.03). Prenatal exposure to PCB and DDE showed weak, non-significant inverse associations with testicular size and Tanner stage. DDE was highly correlated with PCB and showed slightly weaker associations with the hormone profile. These findings suggest that delayed puberty with low serum-LH concentrations associated with developmental exposure to non dioxin-like PCBs may be due to a central hypothalamo-pituitary mechanism.

► In 438 adolescent boys from the Faroe Islands, a higher polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentration in cord blood was associated with lower serum concentrations of both luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone, and higher sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations.
► The concurrent PCB exposure was also positively associated with the SHBG concentration.
► In a structural equation model, a doubling in prenatal PCB exposure was associated with a decrease in LH of 6% (p = 0.03).
► These signs of delayed puberty may be ascribed to a central hypothalamo-pituitary mechanism.