Exposure to the Pesticide Chlordane is Associated with Increased Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

A large collection of epidemiological research supports the general association between a variety of persistent organic pollutants and chronic disease states. Specifically, exposure to chlordane, an insecticide banned from use in the United States for more than 30 years has been associated with metabolic syndrome in earlier studies. This study focused on oxychlordane (a metabolite of chlordane) and its relationship with metabolic syndrome and its individual risk factors. This study included 3,465 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2004, in which anthropometric and biochemical measures of health were compared with the lipid-adjusted serum levels of oxychlordane. Age, gender, and ethnicity-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for metabolic syndrome across quartiles of oxychlordane concentrations when compared to subjects in the lowest quartile concentration and those with levels below the limits of detection were 1.56 (95 percent CI, 1.04-2.35), 2.16 (1.60-2.93), and 2.92 (2.00-4.27; P For her work on this project, Cassandra Nikolaus was nominated for the SOURCE 2014 Scholar of the Year Award. She also received a College of Education and Professional Studies Best Oral Presentation Award