Structural Equation Modeling of Immunotoxicity Associated with Exposure to Perfluorinated Compounds

• Activity Number: 230
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 4, 2014 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Biometrics Section
• Author(s): Ulla B. Mogensen*+ and Esben Budtz-Jørgensen and Philippe Grandjean and Carsten Heilmann and Flemming Nielsen and Pal Weihe
• Companies: University of Copenhagen and University of Copenhagen and University of Southern Denmark and National University Hospital, Copenhagen and University of Southern Denmark and Faroese Hospital System
• Keywords: Structural equation models ; Immunotoxicity

Abstract

Exposure to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) is associated to decrease in serum concentrations of specific antibodies against certain childhood vaccines. In a cohort of 656 children PFCs were measured in blood samples at ages 5 and 7 years, and concentrations of antibodies were assessed at age 7 years. In this talk we model structural equation models (SEM) to determine the association between concentration of two antibodies and three major PFCs. Because serum PFC concentrations are likely to be imprecise indicators of the causative exposure, the SEM provides a useful approach to statistical analysis and incorporates adjustments for missing data. We discuss different modeling strategies and show strong evidence of human PFC immunotoxicity.