Multiple Classes Of Environmental Chemicals Are Associated With Liver Disease: Nhanes 2003-2006 [Journal Article]
Citation:
CHRISTENSEN, K. L., C. Carrico, A. Sanyal, AND C. Gennings. Multiple Classes Of Environmental Chemicals Are Associated With Liver Disease: Nhanes 2003-2006 [Journal Article]. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYGIENE AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. Urban & Fischer Verlag Jena, Jena, Germany, 216(6):703-709, (2013).
Impact/Purpose:
We used the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to evaluate the relationship between alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and 53 environmental contaminants across six classes (metals; perfluorinated compounds [PFCs]; phthalates; phenols; coplanar and non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs]) using a novel method.
Description:
Biomonitoring of human tissues and fluids has shown that virtually all individuals, worldwide, carry a “body burden” of synthetic chemicals (Thornton et al. 2002; CDC 2009). Although the measurement of an environmental chemical in a person’s tissues or fluids is an indication of exposure, it does not by itself mean that the chemical or the exposure concentration is sufficient to cause a disease or an adverse effect. However, since humans are exposed to multiple chemicals, there may be a combination effect (e.g., additive, synergistic) on health risks associated with exposure even at low levels (Kortenkamp 2008). Further, biomonitoring studies show that humans carry a body burden of multiple classes of contaminants which are often not studied together.