Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, and Obesity in Relation to Serum Dioxin Concentrations: The Seveso Women's Health Study

Background: In animal studies, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) alters glucose transport and increases lipids and blood pressure. Epidemiologic evidence suggests an association between TCDD and metabolic disease. Objectives: On July 10, 1976, a chemical explosion in Seveso, Italy, resulted in the highest known residential exposure to TCDD. Using data from the Seveso Women's Health Study (SWHS), a cohort study of the health of the women, we examined the relation of serum TCDD to diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity over 30 years later. Methods: In 1996, we enrolled 981 women who were newborn to 40 years in 1976 and resided in the most contaminated areas. Individual TCDD concentration was measured in archived serum collected soon after the explosion. In 2008, 833 women participated in a follow-up study. Diabetes was classified based on self-report or fasting serum glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels. Metabolic syndrome was defined by International Diabetes Federation criteria. Obesity was defined as body mass index ≥30 kg/m(2). Results: A 10-fold increase in serum TCDD (log10TCDD) was not associated with diabetes (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.76; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45, 1.28) or obesity (adjusted odds ratio = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.58, 1.10). Log10TCDD was associated with metabolic syndrome, but only among women who were ≤ 12 years at explosion (adjusted odds ratio = 2.03; 95% CI: 1.25, 3.29; p-interaction = 0.01). Conclusions: We found an increase in metabolic syndrome associated with TCDD, but only among women who were youngest at exposure. Continued follow-up of the SWHS cohort will be informative