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Joseph L. Jacobson,¹ James Janisse,¹ Mousumi Banerjee,² Jennifer Jester,¹ Sandra W. Jacobson,³ and Joel W. Ager²

¹Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA; ²Center for Health Care Effectiveness Research and ³Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Abstract

Benchmark dose (BMD) analysis is used to determine levels of exposure to environmental contaminants associated with increased public health risk. In this study we used a benchmark approach to evaluate the risks associated with prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) . We evaluated for intellectual impairment a cohort of children whose prenatal PCB exposure had been assessed from biologic specimens. We calculated BMDs and lower-bound confidence limits (BMDLs) for four end points using four sets of risk criteria. BMDLs were estimated using three different statistical methodologies. The BMDs and BMDLs were remarkably consistent across the four end points for each set of risk criteria, but differed substantially for the different risk criteria. The proportion of the sample considered at risk ranged from 9.8% for the least protective criteria to 74.1% for the most protective. Two methodologies, likelihood ratio and bootstrapping, generated generally similar BMDLs. BMD analysis provides a straightforward, reliable method for evaluating levels of exposure associated with increased public health risk. In the analyses performed in this study, the number of individuals considered at risk depended more on the risk criterion selected than on the outcome assessed. Key words: benchmark dose analysis, dose-response, environmental contaminants, in utero exposure, organochlorine contaminants, polychlorinated biphenyls, risk analysis. Environ Health Perspect 110:393-398 (2002) . [Online 8 March 2002]

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110p393-398jacobson/ abstract.html

Address correspondence to J.L. Jacobson, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, 71 W. Warren, Detroit, MI 48202 USA. Telephone: (313) 993-5454. Fax: (313) 993-3427. E-mail: jjacobso@sun.science.wayne.edu

The Michigan study was supported by grants R01-ES03256 and R01-ES05843 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/National Institutes of Health and grant CR80852010 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The study protocol was approved by the Wayne State University Human Investigation Committee, and informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Received 5 March 2001 ; accepted 10 October 2001.