Determinants of p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDE) concentration in adipose tissue in women from five European cities

To identify the determinants of p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (p,p'-DDE) in adipose tissue in subjects who participated in a cross-sectional study, we analyzed fatty acids, antioxidants, and p,p'-DDE in aspirates of adipose tissue of 328 postmenopausal women from 5 European countries. The overall mean of p,p'-DDE concentration was 1.66 mu g/g of fatty acids (95% confidence interval = 1.46, 1.88). In a multiple-regression analysis, the main predictors of log(10)(p,p'-DDE) were center of recruitment (p <.0001), adipose arachidic acid (p =.001), and adipose retinol (p =.04). These factors explained 14.9% of the overall variability of log(10)(p,p'-DDE), In our subjects, adipose tissue p,p'-DDE concentrations were only weakly related with biomarkers reflecting intake of fish and other foods. This result is consistent with the notion that p,p'-DDE exists in different foods and, given the widespread contamination of the food chain, is relatively evenly distributed among foods.