2–2.8) pg/ml higher plasma EEQs, but this was difficult to attribute to a specific type of drug. For BMI, weight loss, use of personal care products, and living within a city centre, no clear associations with plasma EEQs and AEQs were found. Table 3 presents the effect estimates for occupational exposures. Reporting of any occupational exposure seemed to be associated with an increase in plasma EEQs of 1.2 (95%CI − 0.1–2.4) pg/ml. Exposure to pesticides appeared to be associated with an increase in plasma EEQ of 1.5 (95%CI − 0.2–3.2) pg/ml. For the associations between

the recent use of disinfectants and plasma EEQs and AEQs, more convincing effect estimates were calculated: beta 2.1 (95%CI 0.2–3.9) pg/ml and beta www.selleckchem.com/products/fg-4592.html 1.6 (95%CI 0.3–3.5) × 10− 1 ng/ml, respectively. Disinfectants mostly involved cleaning buy Selumetinib hands or equipment with alcohol, which was reported by men with very diverse job titles. Occupational exposure to organic solvents, including industrial cleaning agents, paint, ink, adhesives and thinners, seemed to be linked with a slightly increased plasma EEQ: beta 1.3 (95%CI − 0.3–3.0) pg/ml,

whereas no elevated of reduced EEQs or AEQs were noted in 31 men with exposures to these products from leisure time activities (e.g. home improvements or hobbies). Men who reported exposure to welding or soldering fumes seemed to have somewhat higher plasma AEQs: beta 1.4 (95%CI − 0.2–2.9) × 10− 1 ng/ml. Working with copper or lead or exposure to fumes from plastics could not be associated with EEQs or AEQs in plasma. An approximately 30% higher plasma EEQ was found in six men with indoor exposure to vehicle exhaust fumes for at least 5 h/week: beta 2.9 (95%CI 0.6–5.2) pg/ml. Effect estimates of dietary intake variables are presented in Table 4. Plasma EEQs and AEQs could not be associated with the triclocarban current intake frequency of any food item. The DR CALUX® measurements, however, revealed that men with TEQs over 60 pg/g lipids, which represent moderate to high internal levels

of total dioxins, had approximately 20% higher plasma AEQs compared to men with TEQs below 50 pg/g lipids (Table 5). In this observational study, we explored the effects of exposure to a variety of sources of potential endocrine disruptors on total estrogenic and androgenic plasma activities measured by CALUX® bioassays. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which the CALUX® technology was used to assess hormone activities in total plasma, in contrast to previous reports in which measurements were performed on plasma extracts of specific lipophilic pollutants. The total estrogenic and androgenic activities in plasma would reflect receptor activation by any prevalent xenobiotics, as well as by endogenous hormones (Fig. 1), also detecting certain ‘indirect’ effects of xenobiotics, such as interference with the bioavailability of endogenous hormones or competitive receptor binding.