IARC 60th Anniversary - 19-21 May 2026
Session : 20/05/26 - Posters
Associations Between Dietary Exposure to Dioxins and PCBs and Longitudinal Changes in Weight and Waist Circumference– An EPIC study
REN X. 1, NICOLAS . 2, SCHULZE M. 3,4, SIMEON V. 5, CHIRLAQUE LÓPEZ M. 6,7, PADRONI L. 8, ABILLEIRA E. 7,9,10, AGUDO A. 11,12, GRIONI S. 13, MELLEMKJÆR L. 14, ANDERSEN . 14, CORNET C. 15, KATZKE V. 15, DELFRADE J. 7,16,17, DAHM C. 18, LUNDGÅRD CHRISTENSEN A. 18, WEIDERPASS E. 19, SÁNCHEZ M. 7,20,21, MASALA G. 22, ARTAUD F. 1, FRÉNOY P. 1, MARQUES C. 1, BERDEN J. 2,24, SEVERI G. 1,23, HUYBRECHTS I. 2, MANCINI F. 1
1 Université Paris-Saclay, UVSQ, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, CESP, Villejuif, France., Paris, France; 2 Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France , lyon, France; 3 Department of Molecular Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany, Nuthetal, Germany; 4 Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany, Nuthetal, Germany; 5 Medical Statistics Unit, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy, Naples, Italy; 6 Department of Epidemiology, Murcia Regional Health Council, IMIB, Murcia, Spain, Murcia, Spain; 7 Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Murcia, Spain, Murcia, Spain; 8 Department of Clinical and Biological Science, University of Turin, Regione Gonzole 10, Orbassano 10043, Italy, orbassano, Italy; 9 Ministry of Health of the Basque Government, Directorate for Public Health and Addictions, Public Health Laboratory in Gipuzkoa, San Sebastián, Spain, San Sebastián, Spain; 10 BioGipuzkoa Health Research Institute, Epidemiology of Chronic and Communicable Diseases Group, San Sebastián, Spain, San Sebastián, Spain; 11 Unit of Nutrition and Cancer, Catalan Institute of Oncology - ICO, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; 12 Nutrition and Cancer Group; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; 13 Epidemiology and Prevention Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano Via Venezian, Milan, Italy, Milan, Italy; 14 Danish Cancer Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark; 15 Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany, Heidelberg, Germany; 16 Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain, Pamplona, Spain; 17 Instituto de Salud Pública y Laboral de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, Pamplona, Spain; 18 Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, Aarhus, Denmark; 19 International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, Lyon, France; 20 Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), 18011 Granada, Spain, Granada, Spain; 21 Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, 18012 Granada, Spain, Granada, Spain; 22 Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Institute for cancer research, prevention and clinical network (ISPRO), Florence, Italy, Florence, Italy; 23 Department of Statistics, Computer Science, Applications “G. Parenti”, University of Florence, Florence, Italy, Florence, Italy; 24 Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, Ghent, Belgium
Background
The increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide is a critical health problem, as it is associated with an increased risk of numerous chronic conditions, including cardiovascular diseases and various types of cancer. In recent years, research on the environmental causes of obesity has increased, with growing attention to the role of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), two groups of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). At the molecular level, dioxins and PCBs disrupt adipogenesis and energy homeostasis through multiple pathways. Despite biological plausibility, evidence linking dioxins or PCBs exposure with changes in body weight or waist circumference in humans remains limited and inconsistent.
Objective
Therefore, this study investigate the association between dietary exposure to dioxins and PCBs and changes in weight and in waist circumference after 5 years of follow-up in a large prospective cohort.
Method
The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) is an ongoing multicenter prospective cohort including participants aged 35–69 years recruited from 23 centers across 10 European countries between 1992 and 2000. A total of 215,556 participants were included in the weight-change analyses, among whom 99,046 had available data on waist circumference. Body weight and waist circumference were measured at recruitment and self-reported at follow-up. Dietary intakes of dioxins and PCBs were estimated using country-specific dietary questionnaires collected at baseline and food contamination data from the European Food Safety Authority database. Associations were assessed using multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models.
Results
Higher intake of both dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs (dioxins+DL-PCBs) (Q4 vs Q1=0.07kg/5-years (95%CI 0.01, 0.13)), and non-dioxin like PCBs (NDL-PCBs) (Q4 vs Q1= 0.27kg/5-years (95%CI 0.20, 0.35), p-trend<0.001)) were associated with weight gain. Inverse associations were observed between dietary intake of dioxins+DL-PCBs and NDL-PCBs and waist circumference change (Q4 vs Q1= -0.44cm/5-years (95%CI -0.56, -0.31), p-trend<0.001 and Q4 vs Q1= -0.21cm/5-years (95%CI -0.34, -0.07), p-trend<0.001, respectively). These inverse associations were driven primarily by participants from Denmark, who comprised 44% of those with waist circumference measurement at follow-up.
Conclusion
This large prospective study provides evidence that dietary exposure to both dioxins + DL-PCBs and NDL-PCBs may play a role in long-term weight regulation in European populations, despite regulatory restrictions. Although the observed associations were modest and measurement error cannot be fully exclude, the consistency across multiple stratified and sensitivity analyses strengthens the validity of the findings. The findings also highlight geographic differences, in particular the inverse association observed in Denmark. Further studies are needed to clarify the underlying biological mechanisms, potential modifying role of dietary patterns and residual confounding. These findings also highlight that, despite the regulation PCB and dioxins remain present in the food chain, showing the need for continued efforts to reduce consumers’ exposure.