Project Results for California Teachers Study (CTS)

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Results on page last updated: 09/22/2015

Project: California Teachers Study (CTS)

Study Group: 2,869 female professional school employees
Sample Collection Date: 2011

Chemical Group: Organochlorine Pesticides

Measured in: Serum

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
beta-Hexachlorocyclohexane (beta-HCH)	b-HCH	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	5.21	4.88	5.57	2.79	5.24	9.66	25.3	84.5%	0.015 ng/mL
DDE (para,para)	DDT (para,para) and/or DDE (para,para)	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	301	283	320	159	298	540	1360	100%	0.015 ng/mL
DDT (ortho,para)	DDT (ortho,para)	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	2.3%	0.031 ng/mL
DDT (para,para)	DDT (para,para)	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	1.94	1.87	2.02	<LOD	1.84	2.58	5.47	67.7%	0.015 ng/mL
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB)	HCB	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	12	11.7	12.2	9.75	11.9	14.3	20.8	100%	0.015 ng/mL
Oxychlordane	Oxychlordane	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	8.34	7.95	8.75	5.52	8.63	13	23.6	98.1%	0.015 ng/mL
trans-Nonachlor	t-Nonachlor	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	15.3	14.6	16	10.1	14.8	23.4	49.4	99.9%	0.015 ng/mL

Footnotes

*Geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group

Chemical Group: Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs)

Measured in: Serum

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Et-PFOSA-AcOH	EtPFOSAAcOH	NA	ng/mL	1759	0.031	0.029	0.032	0.015	0.03	0.06	0.2	84.5%	0.011
Me-PFOSA-AcOH	MePFOSAAcOH	NA	ng/mL	1759	0.2	0.19	0.21	0.1	0.2	0.41	1.3	98.4%	0.013
PFBS	PFBS	NA	ng/mL	614	*,#	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	0.067	18.4%	0.022
PFDA	PFDA	NA	ng/mL	1759	0.22	0.21	0.23	0.15	0.23	0.35	0.67	94.7%	0.032
PFDoA	PFDoA	NA	ng/mL	1737	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	0.093	10.8%	0.036
PFHpA	PFHpA	NA	ng/mL	1759	0.054	0.052	0.057	<LOD	0.054	0.11	0.28	74%	0.015
PFHxS	PFHxS	NA	ng/mL	1759	1.62	1.56	1.68	1.04	1.58	2.50	6.24	99.9%	0.012
PFNA	PFNA	NA	ng/mL	1719	0.92	0.89	0.95	0.67	0.95	1.3	2.3	99.7%	0.014
PFOA	PFOA	NA	ng/mL	1759	2.46	2.39	2.53	1.69	2.5	3.63	6.22	99.9%	0.029
PFOS	PFOS	NA	ng/mL	1759	6.8	6.56	7.04	4.57	7.14	10.9	19.5	99.8%	0.083
PFOSA	PFOSA	NA	ng/mL	1597	0.036	0.034	0.039	<LOD	0.036	0.075	0.25	74.1%	0.01
PFUnDA	PFUnDA	NA	ng/mL	1759	0.13	0.12	0.13	0.081	0.14	0.23	0.42	96.8%	0.01

Footnotes

# As of March 2013, PFBuS is no longer measured due to instrumental background interference.
*Geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group

Chemical Group: Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)

Measured in: Serum

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
BDE 017	BDE 17	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	0.2%	0.006 ng/mL
BDE 028	BDE 28	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	1.96	4.73	42.9%	0.008 ng/mL
BDE 047	BDE 47	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	14.1	13.6	14.7	7.22	13.1	25.3	73.5	86.4%	0.024 ng/mL
BDE 066	BDE 66	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	0.05%	0.007 ng/mL
BDE 085	BDE 85	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	1.87	7.8%	0.002 ng/mL
BDE 099	BDE 99	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	5	16	44.3%	0.018 ng/mL
BDE 100	BDE 100	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	2.62	2.5	2.73	1.19	2.31	4.71	15.7	75.9%	0.004 ng/mL
BDE 153	BDE 153	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	5.6	5.34	5.85	2.66	4.75	9.48	43.1	77%	0.009 ng/mL
BDE 154	BDE 154	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	3.9%	0.007 ng/mL
BDE 183	BDE 183	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	1.7%	0.007 ng/mL
BDE 196	BDE 196	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	2%	0.003 ng/mL
BDE 197	BDE 197	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	3.58	8.4%	0.005 ng/mL
BDE 201	BDE 201	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	2.5%	0.005 ng/mL
BDE 202	BDE 202	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	2.9%	0.005 ng/mL
BDE 203	BDE 203	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1980	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	2.1%	0.005 ng/mL
BDE 206	BDE 206	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1862	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	3.3%	0.004 ng/mL
BDE 207	BDE 207	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1857	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	4.56	9.3%	0.006 ng/mL
BDE 208	BDE 208	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1814	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	3.7%	0.003 ng/mL
BDE 209	BDE 209	Lipids	ng/g lipid	1797	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	33.3	8.7%	0.053 ng/mL

Footnotes

*Geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group

Chemical Group: Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

Measured in: Serum

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
PCB 066	PCB 66	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	1.68	3.07	39.8%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 074	PCB 74	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	5.96	5.67	6.26	3.84	6.43	9.53	17.7	96.5%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 099	PCB 99	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	3.11	2.97	3.27	2.01	3.07	4.82	9.73	90.4%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 101	PCB 101	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	3.3%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 105	PCB 105	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	*	*	*	<LOD	1.46	2.02	4.39	53%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 118	PCB 118	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	6.5	6.18	6.83	4.09	6.41	10.4	22	99%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 138	PCB 138	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	12.9	12.3	13.5	8.39	13.5	20.5	37.1	99.5%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 153	PCB 153	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	28.7	27.5	30	19.5	30.1	43.6	72.9	100%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 156	PCB 156	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	4.92	4.72	5.12	3.55	5.22	7.23	11.8	96.7%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 170	PCB 170	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	9.18	8.82	9.55	6.68	9.68	13.5	20.7	99.4%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 180	PCB 180	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	31.5	30.3	32.9	22.4	33.3	48.4	76.8	100%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 183	PCB 183	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	2.37	2.27	2.47	1.65	2.4	3.5	5.98	82%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 187	PCB 187	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	7.25	6.92	7.59	4.83	7.65	11.04	20.2	98.4%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 194	PCB 194	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	7.52	7.23	7.83	5.37	7.83	11.09	17.88	99.6%	0.015 ng/mL
PCB 203	PCB 203	Lipids	ng/g lipid	793	6.47	6.17	6.78	4.36	6.75	10.14	16.71	97.2%	0.015 ng/mL

Footnotes

*Geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group

Explanation of Terms

95% Confidence interval for the geometric mean

A 95% confidence interval for the geometric mean (CI-GM) is a range of values between two numbers called the lower bound and upper bound. These bounds are calculated based on sample data collected from a subset of a larger population. In repeated random sampling, the CI-GMs calculated for the various samples will contain the population value of the geometric mean 95 percent of the time. If convenience sampling is used to collect sample data, the CI-GM should be interpreted with caution. This is because a convenience sample may not be representative of the larger population.

95% Confidence interval for the geometric mean - lower

95% Confidence interval for the geometric mean - upper

Adjusted for

Chemical concentrations in urine can be adjusted for urine dilution using creatinine or specific-gravity. Chemical concentrations in serum can be adjusted for lipids. In the results tables, unadjusted chemical concentrations are denoted by NA.

Below the limit of detection (<LOD)

Below the limit of detection (< LOD) means that the laboratory could not detect the chemical. This may have been because the chemical was not present at all or because it was present at such a low level that the laboratory could not measure it.

Below the limit of quantification (<LOQ)

Below the limit of quantification (<LOQ) means that the chemical was not present or that it was present at such a low level that the laboratory could not measure it quantitatively with acceptable accuracy.

Chemical measured

The chemical that was analyzed in blood or urine samples. The chemical measured is sometimes the parent chemical and sometimes a metabolite of the parent chemical.

Detection frequency (percent detected)

The percentage of blood or urine samples with a measurable level of a chemical.

Geometric mean

The geometric mean is an estimated middle value of a set of numbers.This is different than the average, also called the "arithmetic mean". A geometric mean is sometimes calculated when the set of numbers contains some extreme values. For example, the geometric mean of the set of numbers "1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 10, 100" is calculated by multiplying all ten numbers together and then raising to the 1/10th power, giving 4.8. To compare, the arithmetic mean is calculated by adding all ten numbers and dividing by 10, giving 14.

In the data tables, an asterisk (*) means the geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group.

Indicates exposure to

The chemical(s) listed in this column is the chemical(s) to which a person may have been exposed through various sources (e.g., via drinking water or use of a consumer product). This chemical is commonly called the parent chemical.

Number of people tested

The number of individuals whose blood or urine samples were analyzed for a particular chemical.

Reporting limit, wet weight

The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) are indicators of the lowest level of a chemical the lab can measure with acceptable accuracy and precision. For some projects, this is reported as an LOD. For others, it is reported as an LOQ. The wet-weight LOD/LOQ is presented as an amount of a chemical per liter of a sample (for example, microgram of a chemical per liter of urine, or µg/L). This is often the way that biomonitoring results are reported as well (for example, µg/L urine or µg/L serum). In some cases, however, biomonitoring results are presented as lipid-adjusted concentrations (µg/g lipid) or creatinine-adjusted concentrations (µg/g creatinine). For these cases, the units for the wet-weight LOD/LOQ will differ from the units used to report the biomonitoring results. For more information on lab results and protocols, please contact us.

Sample collection date

The time period during which blood or urine samples were collected from participants in Biomonitoring California projects or laboratory collaborations.

Selected percentiles

A range of values calculated to show the distribution of measured chemical levels. See specific percentiles below for examples.

Selected percentiles - 25th

If the 25th percentile is 0.3 µg/L, for example, this means that 25% of participants had levels less than or equal to 0.3 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 50th

If the 50th percentile is 0.6 µg/L, for example, this means that 50% of participants had levels less than or equal to 0.6 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 75th

If the 75th percentile is 1.2 µg/L, for example, this means that 75% of participants had levels less than or equal to 1.2 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 90th

If the 90th percentile is 1.5 µg/L, for example, this means that 90% of participants had levels less than or equal to 1.5 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 95th

If the 95th percentile is 1.9 µg/L, for example, this means that 95% of participants had levels less than or equal to 1.9 µg/L.

Study group

A brief description of the people who provided blood and/or urine samples for analysis in a particular study.

Units

Human biomonitoring data are commonly reported as an amount of a chemical present in a specified volume of a bodily fluid (such as blood or urine). For example, a chemical measurement expressed in units of µg/L urine tells us the number of micrograms (µg) of the chemical present per one liter (L) of urine. Using standard units allows for comparison across different studies. For more examples, see definition for: Units used by Biomonitoring California.

Unweighted Results

Unweighted results summarize the measurements collected from study participants but may not apply to a wider group of Californians.

Weighted Results

Weighted results are results that have been calculated using a statistical method that adjusts over-represented and under-represented samples. Weighted results adequately reflect a wider population in California.

Project Results for California Teachers Study (CTS)

Project: California Teachers Study (CTS)

Chemical Group: Organochlorine Pesticides

Unweighted Results

Chemical Group: Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs)

Unweighted Results

Chemical Group: Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)

Unweighted Results

Chemical Group: Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

Unweighted Results

Explanation of Terms

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