Original Article

Serum Concentration of Thyroid Hormones Long-Term after Sulfur Mustard Exposure

Abstract

Background: Despite several reports on the clinical manifestations of sulfur mustard (SM) intoxication, there is no study on serum concentrations of thyroid hormones long-term after SM exposure. In this study, the changes in thyroid functioning parameters 20 yr after SM exposure were evaluated.

Methods: This study is a part of a larger historical cohort study conducted in 2007 following 20 years of the exposure to SM, called Sardasht–Iran cohort study (SICS). We (SICS) comprised an SM–exposed group from Sardasht City, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran (n=169 as hospitalized group and n=203 as non-hospitalized exposed group); and control participants were selected from Rabat, a town near Sardasht (n=126). Peripheral blood samples were taken in fasting state and then the sera were separated. T4, T3, TSH, antithyroglobulin (anti–Tg), and antithyroid peroxidase (anti–TPO) concentrations in the sera were measured by the ELISA method.

Results: The mean of T3 concentration was significantly higher in the exposed than control group (0.88 ± 0.26 nmol/L vs 0.8 ± 0.25 nmol/L, P<0.001). The levels of TSH, T4, and T3up were not significantly different between the exposed and control groups. Thyroglobulin level was significantly higher in the exposed non-hospitalized group (56.07 ± 140.22 µg/L vs 17.66 ± 41.49 µg/L, P=0.004), but the level of anti–Tg and anti–TPO showed no significant differences between the two groups.

Conclusion: More studies are needed on the alterations in thyroid hormones, their gene expressions, and mechanisms involved in SM exposure to clarify the causes of these alterations.

 

1. Sanjarmoosavi N, Sanjarmoosavi N, Shahsavan M et al (2012). Teratogenic effects of sulfur mustard on mice fetuses. Iran J Basic Med Sci, 15: 853–859.
2. Council UNS (1986). Report of the mission dispatched by the secretary-general to investigate allegations of the use of chemical weapons in the conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq. New York: United Nations Council.
3. Ghazanfari T, Mohammad Hassan Z, Foroutan A (2009). The long-term consequences of sulfur mustard on Iranian chemical victims: Introduction. Toxin Rev, 28:1-2.
4. Balali‐Mood M, Hefazi M (2006). Comparison of early and late toxic effects of sulfur mustard in Iranian veterans. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol, 99:273-82.
5. Moaiedmohseni S, Ghazanfari T, Araghizadeh H et al (2009). Long-term health status 20 years after sulfur mustard exposure. Toxin Rev, 28:3-7.
6. Azizi F, Amini M, Arbab P (1993). Time course of changes in free thyroid indices, rT3, TSH, cortisol and ACTH following exposure to sulfur mustard. Exp Clin Endocrinol, 101:303-306.
7. Ghazanfari T, Faghihzadeh S, Aragizadeh H et al (2009). Sardasht-Iran cohort study of chemical warfare victims: design and methods. Arch Iran Med, 12:5-14.
8. Zojaji R, Balali-Mood M, Mirzadeh M et al (2009). Delayed head and neck complications of sulphur mustard poisoning in Iranian veterans. J Laryngol Otol, 123:1150-4.
9. Brar NK, Waggoner C, Reyes JA et al (2010). Evidence for thyroid endocrine disruption in wild fish in San Francisco Bay, California, USA. Relationships to contaminant exposures. Aquat Toxicol, 96:203-215.
10. Zoeller RT, Tan SW (2007). Implications of research on assays to characterize thyroid toxicants. Crit Rev Toxicol, 37:195-210.
11. Adams BA, Cyr DG, Eales JG (2000). Thyroid hormone deiodination in tissues of American plaice, Hippoglossoides platessoides: characterization and short-term responses to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 77 and 126. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol, 127:367-378.
12. Coimbra AM, Reis-Henriques MA, Darras VM (2005). Circulating thyroid hormone levels and iodothyronine deiodinase activities in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) following dietary exposure to Endosulfan and Aroclor 1254. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol, 141:8-14.
13. Picard-Aitken M, Fournier H, Pariseau R et al (2007). Thyroid disruption in walleye (Sander vitreus) exposed to environmental contaminants: cloning and use of iodothyronine deiodinases as molecular biomarkers. Aquat Toxicol, 83:200-211.
14. Pocar P, Klonisch T, Brandsch C et al (2006). AhR-agonist-induced transcriptional changes of genes involved in thyroid function in primary porcine thyrocytes. Toxicol Sci, 89:408-414.
15. Hennemann G, Docter R, Krenning E (1988). Causes and effects of the low T3 syndrome during caloric deprivation and non-thyroidal illness: an overview. Acta Med Austriaca, 15 Suppl 1:42-5.
16. Mönig H, Arendt T, Meyer M et al (1999). Activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in response to septic or non-septic diseases–implications for the euthyroid sick syndrome. Intensive Care Med, 25:1402-6.
17. Kawada J, Nishida M, Yoshimura Y, Mitani K (1980). Effects of organic and inorganic mercurials on thyroidal functions. J Pharmacobiodyn, 3:149-159.
18. Crofton KM (2008). Thyroid disrupting chemicals: mechanisms and mixtures. Int J Androl, 31:209-223.
19. Zoeller RT (2007). Environmental chemicals impacting the thyroid: targets and consequences. Thyroid, 17:811-7.
Files
IssueVol 48 No 5 (2019) QRcode
SectionOriginal Article(s)
DOI https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v48i5.1813
Keywords
Sulfur mustard Serum Thyroid hormones
Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
MOAIEDMOHSENI S, GHAZANFARI T, MIRSHARIF ES, ASKARI N, MOHAMMAD HASSAN Z, NAGHIZADEH MM, FAGHIHZADEH S, AZIZI F. Serum Concentration of Thyroid Hormones Long-Term after Sulfur Mustard Exposure. Iran J Public Health. 2019;48(5):949-955.