ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2008
Exposure to a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzofurans resulted in a prolonged time to pregnancy in women.
Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Persistent organic pollutants and couple fecundability: a systematic review.Human reproduction update · 2021Pooled it
- From Follicle Development to Fertilization: How PCBs and PFAS May Shape Female Reproductive Health.Toxics · 2026Review
- The role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in ovarian development, function, xenobiotic metabolism, and disease†.Biology of reproduction · 2026Review
- Prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls alter follicle numbers, gene expression, and a proliferation marker in the rat ovary.Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) · 2023Article
- Exploration of the correlation of serum polychlorinated biphenyl levels with luteal phase hormonal parameters and infertility in women with or without polycystic ovary syndrome.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Article
- Dioxin exposure associated with fecundability and infertility in mothers and daughters of Seveso, Italy.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2021Article
- Article
- A cohort study evaluation of maternal PCB exposure related to time to pregnancy in daughters.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2013Article
- Serum concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls in relation to in vitro fertilization outcomes.Environmental health perspectives · 2011Article
- Serum dioxin concentrations and time to pregnancy.Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2010Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) may affect the female reproductive system in animals and humans. In 1978-1979, a mass poisoning occurred in central Taiwan due to PCB/PCDF-contaminated cooking oil; this incident was called Yucheng ("oil disease" in Chinese).
objectiveThe purpose of our study was to determine whether PCB/PCDF exposure affected fertility in exposed women.
methodsAfter the event, we followed the exposed individuals and a reference group who were sex-, age-, and community-matched. In 2003, we obtained fertility histories from Yucheng and reference women by telephone interview. We used Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariable Cox regression to compare time to pregnancy (TTP) between Yucheng and reference women, and we performed multiple logistic regression to determine whether PCB/PCDF exposure caused infertility.
resultsIn total, 412 women responded, with a median TTP of 4 months in Yucheng women and 3 months in reference women (p = 0.019). After adjusting for confounders by Cox regression, we found a fecundability ratio of 0.90 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.80-1.00] for Yucheng women. Among the 408 women who had non-contraceptive sexual activity for > 12 months, 19.7% of Yucheng women and 9.7% of reference women did not become pregnant (i.e., they were infertile). After we adjusted for confounders by logistic regression, the infertility odds ratio was 2.34 (95% CI, 1.23-4.59) for Yucheng women compared with the reference group.
conclusionsWe found prolonged TTP and reduced fertility among women previously exposed to PCBs/PCDFs. Because of the limited sample size and the relatively small decrease in the fertility rate, these effects require cautious interpretation and further investigation for confirmation.
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