Skewed distribution of hypothyroidism in the coastal communities of Newfoundland,Canada |
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| Institution: | 1. Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St John''s, NL A1B 3V6, Canada;2. Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information, St John''s, NL A1B 2C7, Canada;1. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 401 Park Drive, HSPH-BWH-301W, Boston, MA 02215, USA;2. Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, Nobelsväg 13, Solna 171 77, Sweden;3. Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Research Center of the Mental Health Institute, 7401 Rue Hochelaga, Montreal, Quebec, H1N 3M5, Canada;4. Etholabs, School of Psychoeducation, University of Montreal, C. P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec, H3C 3J7, Canada;5. Département de psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, 320 Sainte-Catherine Est Pavillon J.A. De Sève, local DS5775, Montreal, Quebec H2X 1L7, Canada;6. INSERM U1085, Université Rennes I, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes, France;7. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal, 2375 ch. de la Cote-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, Quebec, H3T 1A8, Canada;8. Université de Montréal Public Health Research Institute, Université de Montréal, 7101 avenue du Parc, office 3187-03, Montreal, Quebec, H3N 1X9, Canada;9. Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, 2875 Laurier, Quebec, Quebec G1V 2M2, Canada;1. School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education, & Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment of the Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China;3. Tianping Community Health Service Center, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China;1. Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schillerstr. 25/29, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany;2. Berlin-Brandenburg State Laboratory, Department of Environmental Health Protection, Invalidenstr. 60, D-10557 Berlin, Germany;3. North Rhine-Westphalia State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection, Leibnizstr. 10, D-45659 Recklinghausen, Germany;4. Department of Chemical Safety and Toxicology, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Pfarrstr. 3, D-80538 Munich, Germany;5. Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Ziemssenstrasse 1, D-80336 Munich, Germany;1. LaKind Associates, LLC, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, MD, USA;2. Department of Pediatrics, Penn State University College of Medicine, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, PA, USA;3. Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA;4. Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, NE, Room 272, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA;5. Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, 170 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA;6. Environmental Risk and Health Unit, VITO, Industriezone Vlasmeer 7, 2400 MOL, Belgium;7. University of Antwerp, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Belgium |
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| Abstract: | Several studies published in the recent past have shown that rising levels of thyroid disrupting chemicals (TDCs) in the environment affect thyroid function in humans. These TDCs are the anthropogenic organic compounds that enter the human body mostly by ingestion and may trigger autoimmune thyroiditis, the most common cause of hypothyroidism. The studies also show the presence of high levels of TDCs in marine animals; therefore, consumption of contaminated seafood might trigger hypothyroidism. So far, there is no readily available population-based data, showing the regional distribution of hypothyroidism cases. We collected administrative data from the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information on hospitalizations with hypothyroidism (from 1998 to 2012) in 41 coastal communities of Newfoundland and found that mean hypothyroidism rates of west and south coasts were significantly higher than in the east coast (1.8 and 1.9 times respectively). A one-way analysis of variance was used to test for regional differences in rates. A significant between-group difference in the rate of hypothyroidism was found (F2,38 = 8.309; p = 0.001). The St. Lawrence River, its estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence are heavily polluted with TDCs from industries, their effluents, and urbanization in the Great Lakes Watershed and along the river. Environment Canada has already identified this river along with the Great Lakes Watershed as one of the top TDCs polluted water sources in the country. The west and south coasts are in contact with the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Local marine products are a regular diet of the coastal communities of Newfoundland. Based on these available evidence, we hypothesize the role of TDCs in the rise of hypothyroidism on the western and southern coasts. However, further study will be needed to establish any association between abnormally high rates of hypothyroidism and exposure to TDCs. |
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