1. Decrease of PCDD/F levels in human blood from Germany over the past ten years (1989–1998)
- Author
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Jürgen Wittsiepe, U. Ewers, Michael Wilhelm, Petra Schrey, and Fidelis Selenka
- Subjects
Adult ,Aging ,Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins ,Environmental Engineering ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,Positive correlation ,Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ,Animal science ,Germany ,Humans ,Environmental Chemistry ,Benzofurans ,Whole blood ,Chromatography ,Human blood ,Chemistry ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,General Medicine ,General Chemistry ,Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated ,Middle Aged ,Lipids ,Pollution ,Multiplicative model ,Capillary gas chromatography ,Toxicity - Abstract
744 whole blood samples of normal subjects from Germany collected in 1989-1998 have been analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and dibenzofurans (PCDF) by capillary gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry. Over the examined time period a continuous decrease of the PCDD/F concentrations in human blood was observed. The mean levels found were 43.7 pg I-TEq/g (lipid basis) in 1989 and 20.7 pg I-TEq/g (lipid basis) in 1996/98 [median: 42.2 and 19.4]. The reduction to about the half was found for most congeners. Each one-year subset of the collective and the entire collective shows a positive correlation of the PCDD/F blood levels with age for most of the congeners, the sum values and the calculated toxicity equivalents. For statistical evaluation a multiplicative model was used: Concentration = A x Age(B). The correlation is mostly pronounced for lower chlorinated PCDD and for 2,3,4,7,8-PentaCDF. The PCDD/F concentrations in human blood in relation to the year of examination and the age of the subjects can be described by a linear model: I-TEq [pg/g (lipid basis)] = 6176 - 3.097 x Year + 0.6482 x Age or by a multiplicative model: I-TEq [pg/g(lipid basis)] = 10(89.08-0.04415 x Year + 0.008468 x Age).
- Published
- 2000