CONSUMPTION OF PCB-CONTAMINATED FRESH-WATER FISH AND SHORTENED MENSTRUAL-CYCLE LENGTH

Highly contaminated Lake Ontario sport fish represent an important hum an dietary exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other toxi c contaminants that may disrupt endocrine pathways. New York State Ang ler Cohort women interviewed by telephone in 1993 provided menstrual c ycle length (n = 2,223). Fish consumption at cohort enrollment in 1991 was categorized by duration and frequency and was used to calculate a PCB exposure index, Multiple regression analyses identified significa nt cycle length reductions with consumption of more than one fish meal per month (1.11 days) and moderate/high estimated PCB index (-1.03 da ys). Women who consumed contaminated fish for 7 years or more also had shorter cycles (-0.63 days).