A Study on the Factors Affecting Urinary Paraben Concentration: An Analysis of the Third Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) Data

Abstract

Background: Paraben is a widely used substance with a preservative effect found in various materials such as food, medicine, personal care products, and cosmetics.Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the level of urinary paraben concentrations (i.e., methyl-, ethyl-, and propyl-) among Korean adults and to explore the factors related with the exposure levels. Methods:We analyzed the third period (2015~2017) of the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS). R statistical software (version 4.1.1) was used to estimate representative values for the whole population with weight variables to reflect sampling design. Whether urinary concentrations tended to increase as the level of paraben exposure-related characteristics increased was tested and P trend was calculated using general linear models.Results: Urinary concentrations of all three parabens (i.e., methyl-, ethyl-and propyl-) were higher in women than in men (P trend <0.0001, 0.008, and <0.0001), and the values of methylparaben and propylparaben tended to increase as the age of subjects increased (P trend <0.0001, and <0.0001). Urinary concentrations of methylparaben and propylparaben were associated with intensity of exercise (P trend <0.001, and 0.004), and that of propylparaben was higher in non-smokers (P trend =0.01). In terms of paraben exposure-related variables, urinary concentrations of parabens (i.e., methyl-, ethyl-and propyl-) increased as the daily average frequency of teeth-brushing (P trend <0.0001, 0.03 and 0.0001), the frequency of use of hair products (P trend =0.005, 0.05 and 0.04), the frequency of use of makeup products (P trend <0.001, 0.001 and <0.001), and the frequency of use of antibacterial products (P trend =0.005, 0.02 and 0.02) increased. Conclusions:In our study, urinary concentrations of all three parabens are associated with gender, teethbrushing, hair products, make-up products, and antibacterial products. Methyl-and proyl-parabens were associated with age and intensity of exercise, and propyl-paraben was associated with smoking.