Influence of the consumption of fatty Baltic Sea fish on plasma levels of halogenated environmental contaminants in Latvian and Swedish men

We examined the influence of widely varied consumption of fatty fish from t he Baltic Sea and of age on plasma concentrations of polychlorinated biphen yls (PCBs), polychlorobiphenylols (OH-PCBs), 2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1- trichloroethane (4,4'-DDT), 2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroechane (4,4 '-DDE), 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), hexachlorobenzene (HCB ), and pentachlorophenol (PCP) in Latvian and Swedish men. Both age and fis h consumption were significantly correlated with the concentrations of Sigm a PCB, Sigma OH-PCB, 4,4'-DDE, 4,4'-DDT, and HCB. In the case of BDE-47, no significant relationship with age was observed, and fish consumption had t he largest relative effect on plasma concentrations of this contaminant. Th is relationship may be a result of exposure to BDE-47 having been more rece nt than that of PCBs and DDE, or because the half-life of BDE-47 may be sho rter than that of PCB and DDE. Latvian men demonstrated higher plasma level s of DDE and DDT bur lower levels of Sigma PCB and PCP than did Swedish men . The corresponding levels of HCB and BDE-47 were similar in both countries . The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient obtained by comparing the lev el of the metabolite 4-hydroxy-2,3,3',4',5-pentachlorobipheny (4-OH-CB107) to the combined levels of its parent compounds, 2,3,3',4,4'-pentachlorobiph enyl (CB-105) and 2,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (CB-118), was higher than the median correlation coefficient obtained upon comparing the level of th is metabolite to all other possible combinations of two PCB levels. No othe r increased correlation between metabolite and parent PCB concentration was observed.