International Journal of Epidemiology 2000;29:672-677
© International Epidemiological Association 2000
Menstruation and reproduction in women with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) poisoning: long-term follow-up interviews of the women from the Taiwan Yucheng cohort
a Department of Public Health, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan.
b Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan.
c Department of Psychiatry, Tainan City Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
d Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Reprint requests to: Dr Yueliang Leon Guo, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, 138 Sheng-Li Road, Tainan 70428, Taiwan. E-mail: leonguo{at}mail.ncku.edu.tw
Background In 1979 in Taiwan, about 2000 people were poisoned by cooking oil contaminated with heat-degraded polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Victims developed chloracne and other symptoms; the illness is called Yucheng (oil disease). The chemicals persist in the victims' bodies and some are toxic to the female reproductive system in experimental animals.
Methods In 1993–1994, we identified the living Yucheng women and neighbourhood controls and interviewed them about their reproductive experience. Of the 596 living Yucheng women aged 30–59 years, we found 368, and interviewed 356. We identified 329 controls, and interviewed 312.
Results Of the Yucheng women, 16% reported abnormal menstrual bleeding compared to 8% (P < 0.05) of control women; 4.2% versus 1.7% reported a stillbirth since 1979 (P = 0.068). Other characteristics of the menses, fertility, frequency of intercourse, and age at menopause appeared unaffected. More of the Yucheng women reported that one of their offspring had died during childhood (10.2% versus 6.1%, P < 0.05), and that they had decided to limit childbearing because of health problems (7% versus 2%, P = 0.01).
Conclusions These findings suggest that high level PCB/polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) exposure has some effect on female endocrine and reproductive function.
Keywords Polychlorinated dibenzofurans, polychlorobiphenyl compounds, rice oil, infant mortality
Accepted 24 January 2000
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