Hypertension, Cytokines, and Dioxin-Like Compounds in the Anniston Community Health Survey II

摘要

Introduction: We conducted a follow-up study (ACHS II) of the Anniston Community Health Survey (ACHS 2005-7) in 2014. Participants were exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) concentrations that were about 3 times higher than in the general U.S. population and we observed significant associations between PCBs and hypertension. When endothelial cells are exposed to PCBs or other dioxin-like compounds in animal studies, inflammatory pathways may be activated and lead to increased expression of cytokines, which can contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and hypertension. Methods: Hypertension status was defined as being on antihypertensive medication or having a systolic/diastolic blood pressure greater than 140/90 mmHg; 262 (77.5%) of 338 participants were hypertensive. Cytokines measured included number of interleukins plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF- pi), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFct) HADK2MAG-61K and HADK1MAG-61K bead arrays (EMD Millipore, Billerica, MA). The polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD), dibenzofurans (PCDF), and non-ortho PCBs were measured using high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry and expressed as dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQs, pg/g lipid). Linear regression models adjusting for age, sex, BMI, family history of high blood pressure, and smoking status were applied. Results and Conclusion: We found statistically significant associations between PCDD TEQ and TNFct, PAI-1, and with TGF-31 and non-ortho PCB TEQ and mono-ortho PCBs TEQ among hypertensive individuals. These finding suggest that these chemicals may be related to endothelial cell damage which increases production of inflammatory cytokines, the suppression of fibrinolysis, or downregulate AMP-activated protein kinase activation. These findings need to be replicated in other human cohorts exposed to dioxin-like chemicals.