Association between in utero exposure to organochlorine pesticides and steroids in cord blood.

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are endocrine disruptors, and previous studies have shown that OCPs exposure is associated with hormone levels in the general population. However, there is limited evidence regarding the effects of prenatal OCPs exposure on steroid concentrations in offspring. To explore the association between prenatal OCPs exposure and offspring steroid levels, we designed a cross-sectional study including 981 mother-infant pairs. Cord serum concentrations of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and steroids were measured. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine the relationships between OCPs exposure and steroids levels in cord blood. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were used to assess the dose-response relationships between selected OCPs and steroids. Results showed that OCPs exposure was associated with decreased steroids levels of newborns and the associations were dose-dependent. Specifically, we found that estradiol decreased by 11.17 % (95 % CI: -16.95 %, -4.99 %) and 9.28 % (95 % CI: -14.94 %, -3.24 %) with each 10-fold increase in β-HCH and p,p'-DDE, respectively. Cortisol decreased by 14.99 % (95 % CI: -23.19 %, -5.93 %) with each 10-fold increase in p,p'-DDE. Furthermore, these associations were more pronounced in male infants and those born by cesarean section. In conclusion, this study presented robust disrupting effects of β-HCH and p,p'-DDE exposure on estradiol and cortisol.