MIDDLE-EAR DISEASE IN CHILDREN EXPOSED PRENATALLY TO POLYCHLORINATED-BIPHENYLS AND POLYCHLORINATED DIBENZOFURANS

During 1978 and 1979, an episode of poisoning from ingestion of rice o il contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dib enzofurans occurred in central Taiwan. We followed-up children who had been born between June 1978 and March 1985, as well as matched unexpo sed children. The mothers of exposed children had consumed contaminate d oils before the children were born. In 1993, otolaryngologists exami ned the middle ear of each child with a pneumatic otoscope, and they m easured the middle-ear pressure by tympanometry with a Rion RS20 imped ance audiometer. The exposed children had a significantly higher preva lence of middle-ear diseases than their matched controls. The exposed children who had ear diseases had higher serum levels of 2,3,4,7,8-pen tachloro- and 1,2,3,4,7,8-hexachloro-dibenzofurans than the children w ho did not have similar diseases. Therefore, in this study, children e xposed to polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzofurans had a higher incidence of middle-ear diseases than their controls.