Abdelouahab et al. respond to "Maternal PBDEs and thyroid hormones"

Here, Abdelouahab et al respond to Dr Jonathan Chevrier's comments on their article "Maternal PBDEs and Thyroid Hormones." They say they agree that the question of lipid adjustment needs to be carefully reevaluated. However, the majority of published studies on PBDEs and thyroid hormones, findings from which are inconsistent, used very similar methods of lipid measurement and used lipid-standardized concentrations of PBDE. Hence, this is clearly not a source of inconsistency, but the question of whether lipid adjustment is valid in the case of certain lipophilic contaminants, such as PBDEs, requires debate. There is a clear need for consensus on the methodology of human studies addressing thyroid disruption by environmental contaminants, from initial design to data analysis and clinical interpretation.