Environmental health perspectives
-
Environ. Health Perspect. · Jul 2009
Endometriosis and organochlorinated environmental pollutants: a case-control study on Italian women of reproductive age.
Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disease characterized by the ectopic growth of endometrial tissue. In industrialized countries, it affects approximately 10% of women of reproductive age. Its etiology is unclear, but a multifactorial origin is considered to be most plausible. Environmental organochlorinated persistent pollutants, in particular dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have been hypothesized to play a role in the disease etiopathogenesis. However, results of studies carried out on humans are conflicting. ⋯ The results of this study show that an association exists between increased PCB and p,p'-DDE serum concentrations and the risk of endometriosis.