Impact of High Plasma Concentrations of Dioxin and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBS) in South Indian Women with Endometriosis

To estimate the levels of Dioxin and PCBs present in the plasma of women with different stages of endometriosis and relation between Dioxin, PCBs and their possible impact on the pathogenesis of endometriosis.
Design: A prospective case control study.
Setting: Department of Reproductive Medicine, Bhagawan Mahavir Medical Research centre, Maternal Health and Research Trust, and Owaisi Hospital AND Research Center Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Patient(s): 97 women with endometriosis undergoing laparoscopy and 102 controls
Intervention(s): Heparinised blood samples were collected for dioxins, PCBs estimation.
Main outcome Measure(s): The levels of dioxins and PCBs were measured via gas chromatography.
Women with endometriosis showed significantly higher concentrations of dioxin and PCBs when compared with the control group. The correlation between the concentrations of dioxin -TCDD, PCBs, and difference in the severity of endometriosis was strong and statistically significant at p<0.05 for all the four compounds PCB-1: r=+0.53; P<0.0001, PCB-5: r=+0.67; P<0.0001, PCB-29: r=+0.64; p<0.0001, PCB-98: r=+0.43; p<0.0014 and concentration of dioxin-TCDD: r=+0.36, p<0.0001.
These results suggest that women having higher concentration of Dioxin and PCBs might have an increased susceptibility to endometriosis.