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Chronic consumption of water, which contains contaminants, may give rise to adverse health effects. The Madrid region, covered by the population-based multicase-control (MCC-Spain) study, includes two drinking water supply areas. The different sources of the water, coupled together with the possible differences in water management, mean that there may be differences in drinking water quality. In the context of the MCC study, our aims were to describe contaminant concentrations in tap water drawn from various sampling points distributed around the region, assess these concentrations by reference to guideline values and study possible differences between the two supply areas. Tap water samples were collected from 34 sampling points in 7 towns in the Madrid region (19-29 April 2010), and 23 contaminants (metals, nitrates, disinfection by-product and Mutagen X levels) were quantified. We undertook a descriptive analysis of the contaminant concentrations in the water and compared them between the two water supply areas (Wilcoxon test). We created maps representing the distribution of the concentrations observed at water sampling points and assessed the correlations (Spearman's coefficient) between the different parameters measured. The concentrations of the contaminants were below guideline values. There were differences between the two supply areas in concentration of nitrates ( p value = 0.0051) and certain disinfection by-products. While there were positive correlations (rho >0.70) among some disinfection by-products, no correlations were found in metals or nitrates. The differences in nitrate levels could be linked to differences in farming/industrial activities in the catchment areas and in disinfection by-products might be related to the existence of different treatment systems or bromine content in source waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Findings and limitations of previous studies on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and pancreatic cancer risk support conducting further research in prospective cohorts., Methods: We conducted a prospective case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Participants were 513 pancreatic cancer cases and 1020 matched controls. Concentrations of 22 POPs were measured in plasma collected at baseline., Results: Some associations were observed at higher concentrations of p, p'-DDT, trans-nonachlor, β-hexachlorocyclohexane and the sum of six organochlorine pesticides and of 16 POPs. The odds ratio (OR) for the upper quartile of trans-nonachlor was 1.55 (95% confidence interval 1.06-2.26; P for trend = 0.025). Associations were stronger in the groups predefined as most valid (participants having fasted >6 h, with microscopic diagnostic confirmation, normal weight, and never smokers), and as most relevant (follow-up ≥10 years). Among participants having fasted >6 h, the ORs were relevant for 10 of 11 exposures. Higher ORs were also observed among cases with microscopic confirmation than in cases with a clinical diagnosis, and among normal-weight participants than in the rest of participants. Among participants with a follow-up ≥10 years, estimates were higher than in participants with a shorter follow-up (for trans-nonachlor: OR = 2.14, 1.01 to 4.53, P for trend = 0.035). Overall, trans-nonachlor, three PCBs and the two sums of POPs were the exposures most clearly associated with pancreatic cancer risk., Conclusions: Individually or in combination, most of the 22 POPs analysed did not or only moderately increased the risk of pancreatic cancer., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.)

Background and Aims: There is evidence that endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have developmental effects at environmental concentrations. We investigated whether some EDCs are associated with the adverse birth outcome Small for Gestational Age (SGA)., Methods: We used PCB 153, p,p'-DDE, HCB, PFOS and PFOA measured in maternal, cord blood or breast milk samples of 5446 mother-child pairs (subset of 693 for the perfluorinated compounds) from seven European birth cohorts (1997-2012). SGA infants were those with birth weight below the 10th percentile for the norms defined by gestational age, country and infant's sex. We modelled the association between measured or estimated cord serum EDC concentrations and SGA using multiple logistic regression analyses. We explored effect modification by child's sex and maternal smoking during pregnancy., Results: Among the 5446 newborns, 570 (10.5%) were SGA. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in PCB 153 was associated with a modestly increased risk of SGA (odds ratio (OR) of 1.05 [95% CI: 1.04-1.07]) that was stronger in girls (OR of 1.09 [95% CI: 1.04-1.14]) than in boys (OR of 1.03 [95% CI: 1.03-1.04]) (p-interaction = 0.025). For HCB, we found a modestly increased odds of SGA in girls (OR of 1.04 [95% CI: 1.01-1.07] per IQR increase), and an inverse association in boys (OR of 0.90 [95% CI: 0.85-0.95]) (p-interaction = 0.0003). Assessment of the HCB-sex-smoking interaction suggested that the increased odds of SGA associated with HCB exposure was only in girls of smoking mothers (OR of 1.18 [95% CI: 1.11-1.25]) (p-interaction = 0.055). Higher concentrations of PFOA were associated with greater risk of SGA (OR of 1.64 [95% CI: 0.97-2.76]). Elevated PFOS levels were associated with increased odds of SGA in newborns of mothers who smoked during pregnancy (OR of 1.63 [95% CI: 1.02-2.59]), while an inverse association was found in those of non-smoking mothers (OR of 0.66 [95% CI: 0.61-0.72]) (p-interaction = 0.0004). No significant associations were found for p,p'-DDE., Conclusions: Prenatal environmental exposure to organochlorine and perfluorinated compounds with endocrine disrupting properties may contribute to the prevalence of SGA. We found indication of effect modification by child's sex and smoking during pregnancy. The direction of the associations differed by chemical and these effect modifiers, suggesting diverse mechanisms of action and biological pathways., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: A plant of lindane in Barakaldo produced discharges of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH). Closed in 1987 leaving inside 4500Tm; the problem was not solved until 2002. A judicial process required an epidemiological assessment of the possible contamination The aim of this study is to measure the degree of impregnation of the POPs in the nearby population., Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in 2008, 154 volunteers from three health centres in Barakaldo and 270 controls from Bilbao, Alonsotegi and Balmaseda. We measured serum levels of eight organochlorine pesticides, and seven polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). We used the χ² test to study the association between categorical variables and t test of Student to compare geometric means. Confounding factors were adjusted using a linear regression model., Results: There was a detectable compound average of 6.3 per person. PCBs 52 and 101, α -HCH, β-endosulfan and heptachlor epoxide could not be quantified; PCB 28, γ-HCH and p, p'-DDT were detected in 6.6, 0.9 and 8.05 % of subjects respectively and the β-HCH, HCB, p, p'-DDE, and PCBs 118, 138, 153 and 180 in the 73.8, 87.3, 98.6, 59.2, 97.6, 98.6 y 98.6 % respectively. After adjusting for age, there were no higher levels of β-HCH in Barakaldo than in controls, (beta = 0.02, SE = 0.07), or HCB, p, p'-DDE, PCB 118, PCB 138, PCB 153 and PCB 180., Conclusion: Six years after having solved the problem near to the factory and storage of HCH, there was no significantly higher levels of HCH, after adjustment for age.