CONSUMPTION OF TOXIC RICE OIL BY YUSHO PATIENTS AND ITS RELATION TO THE CLINICAL-RESPONSE AND LATENT PERIOD

The amounts of toxic rice oil consumed individually by 141 patients with Yusho were estimated, taking into consideration their age and sex and the frequency of meals eaten at home. Since the total amount of oil consumed, the amount of oil consumed per kg per day, the amount of oil consumed during the latent period and the length of the latent period each showed a positively skew distribution, geometric means were calculated for all of them. The amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated quaterphenyls (PCQs) taken by the patients were, on average, 633, 3·4 and 596 mg, respectively, in total or 157, 0·9 and 148 hg/kg/day. The mean latent period was estimated to be 71 days, and the amounts of PCBs, PCDFs, and PCQs taken during the latent period were calculated to be, on average, 466, 2·5 and 439 mg, respectively, the smallest amounts taken by a patient during the latent period being estimated to be 111, 0·6 and 105 mg, and the smallest doses 29, 0·16 and 27 μg/kg/day, respectively. The clinical severity of the response showed a close positive correlation with the total amount of oil consumed but not with the amount of oil consumed per kg per day. The latent period and the amount of oil consumed per kg per day showed a highly significant negative correlation. © 1971.