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Chlordecone exposure in women and time to pregnancy: the Timoun cohort study in Guadeloupe, French West Indies.

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Title: Chlordecone exposure in women and time to pregnancy: the Timoun cohort study in Guadeloupe, French West Indies.
Authors: Ben-Fares, Maryem1 (AUTHOR), Monfort, Christine1 (AUTHOR), Kadhel, Philippe2 (AUTHOR), Costet, Nathalie1 (AUTHOR), Rouget, Florence3 (AUTHOR), Michineau, Léah1 (AUTHOR), Thomé, Jean-Pierre4 (AUTHOR), Cordier, Sylvaine1 (AUTHOR), Multigner, Luc1 (AUTHOR), Warembourg, Charline1 (AUTHOR), Garlantézec, Ronan3 (AUTHOR) ronan.garlantezec@chu-rennes.fr
Source: Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source. 10/16/2025, Vol. 24 Issue 1, p1-13. 13p.
Subject Terms: *Chlordecone, *Public health, Fertility, Duration of pregnancy, At-risk people, Females, Cohort analysis
Geographic Terms: French West Indies, Guadeloupe
Abstract: Background: Chlordecone is a persistent organochlorine insecticide that was widely used to control banana root borer in the French West Indies until 1993. Animal studies have reported an impact of chlordecone exposure on female fertility, but no data are available for humans. Here, we investigated the association between chlordecone exposure in women and time to pregnancy (TTP). Methods: We included 668 pregnant women from the Timoun mother-child cohort study performed in Guadeloupe between 2004 and 2007. TTP was measured with a questionnaire at the inclusion visit. Chlordecone concentrations in maternal blood samples were determined at the time of delivery. A discrete-time Cox model was used to estimate fecundability odds ratios (fOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), with adjustment for potential confounders. Sensitivity analyses were performed by modifying the study population and censoring criteria. Results: Chlordecone was detected in 91% of the study population, with a median concentration of 0.3 µg/L (IQR: 0.1–0.7). The third and fourth quartiles of chlordecone exposure were associated with significantly lower fecundability (fORa [95% CI] = 0.76 [0.58, 0.99]; fORa [95% CI] = 0.72 [0.55, 0.95], respectively). A significant dose-dependent relationship was observed between chlordecone exposure and TTP (p-trend = 0.01). Similar results were observed in all sensitivity analyses except that for primiparous women. Conclusion: Our study supports the hypothesis that chlordecone affects the fertility of women and is therefore a public health concern in widely contaminated areas, such as the French West Indies. Highlights: • Chlordecone is an organochlorine pesticide used in the French West Indies until 1993. • Chlordecone affects female fertility in animals, but this has not yet been studied in humans. • Chlordecone was detected in 91% of blood samples from pregnant women in the Timoun cohort. • Chlordecone exposure is associated with a dose-response trend towards longer time to pregnancy in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source is the property of BioMed Central and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Label: Title
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  Data: Chlordecone exposure in women and time to pregnancy: the Timoun cohort study in Guadeloupe, French West Indies.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ben-Fares%2C+Maryem%22">Ben-Fares, Maryem</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Monfort%2C+Christine%22">Monfort, Christine</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kadhel%2C+Philippe%22">Kadhel, Philippe</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Costet%2C+Nathalie%22">Costet, Nathalie</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rouget%2C+Florence%22">Rouget, Florence</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Michineau%2C+Léah%22">Michineau, Léah</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Thomé%2C+Jean-Pierre%22">Thomé, Jean-Pierre</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cordier%2C+Sylvaine%22">Cordier, Sylvaine</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Multigner%2C+Luc%22">Multigner, Luc</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Warembourg%2C+Charline%22">Warembourg, Charline</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Garlantézec%2C+Ronan%22">Garlantézec, Ronan</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ronan.garlantezec@chu-rennes.fr</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Environmental+Health%3A+A+Global+Access+Science+Source%22">Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source</searchLink>. 10/16/2025, Vol. 24 Issue 1, p1-13. 13p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chlordecone%22">Chlordecone</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+health%22">Public health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fertility%22">Fertility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Duration+of+pregnancy%22">Duration of pregnancy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22At-risk+people%22">At-risk people</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Females%22">Females</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cohort+analysis%22">Cohort analysis</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectGeographic
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22French+West+Indies%22">French West Indies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Guadeloupe%22">Guadeloupe</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Background: Chlordecone is a persistent organochlorine insecticide that was widely used to control banana root borer in the French West Indies until 1993. Animal studies have reported an impact of chlordecone exposure on female fertility, but no data are available for humans. Here, we investigated the association between chlordecone exposure in women and time to pregnancy (TTP). Methods: We included 668 pregnant women from the Timoun mother-child cohort study performed in Guadeloupe between 2004 and 2007. TTP was measured with a questionnaire at the inclusion visit. Chlordecone concentrations in maternal blood samples were determined at the time of delivery. A discrete-time Cox model was used to estimate fecundability odds ratios (fOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), with adjustment for potential confounders. Sensitivity analyses were performed by modifying the study population and censoring criteria. Results: Chlordecone was detected in 91% of the study population, with a median concentration of 0.3 µg/L (IQR: 0.1–0.7). The third and fourth quartiles of chlordecone exposure were associated with significantly lower fecundability (fORa [95% CI] = 0.76 [0.58, 0.99]; fORa [95% CI] = 0.72 [0.55, 0.95], respectively). A significant dose-dependent relationship was observed between chlordecone exposure and TTP (p-trend = 0.01). Similar results were observed in all sensitivity analyses except that for primiparous women. Conclusion: Our study supports the hypothesis that chlordecone affects the fertility of women and is therefore a public health concern in widely contaminated areas, such as the French West Indies. Highlights: • Chlordecone is an organochlorine pesticide used in the French West Indies until 1993. • Chlordecone affects female fertility in animals, but this has not yet been studied in humans. • Chlordecone was detected in 91% of blood samples from pregnant women in the Timoun cohort. • Chlordecone exposure is associated with a dose-response trend towards longer time to pregnancy in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source is the property of BioMed Central and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1186/s12940-025-01233-z
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Chlordecone
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public health
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      – SubjectFull: Fertility
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      – SubjectFull: French West Indies
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      – SubjectFull: Guadeloupe
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              Text: 10/16/2025
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