Current exposure to phthalates and DINCH in European children and adolescents – Results from the HBM4EU Aligned Studies 2014 to 2021

Vogel, Nina; Schmidt, Phillipp; Lange, Rosa; Gerofke, Antje; Sakhi, Amrit Kaur; Haug, Line Småstuen; Jensen, Tina Kold; Frederiksen, Hanne; Szigeti, Tamás; Csákó, Zsófia; Murínová, Ľubica Palkovičová; Šidlovská, Miroslava; Janasik, Beata; Wąsowicz, Wojciech; Tratnik, Janja Snoj; Mazej, Darja; Gabriel, Catherine; Karakitsios, Spyros; Barbone, Fabio; Rosolen, Valentina; Rambaud, Loı̈c; Riou, Margaux; Murawski, Aline; Leseman, Daan; Koppen, Gudrun; Lignell, Sanna; Lindroos, Anna Karin; Zvonař, Martin; Andryskova, Lenka; Fábelová, Lucia; Richterová, Denisa; Horvat, Milena; Kosjek, Tina; Sarigiannis, D; Maroulis, Marios; Pedraza-Dı́az, Susana; Cañas, Ana; Verheyen, Veerle J.; Bastiaensen, Michiel; Gilles, Liese; Schoeters, Greet; Esteban-López, Marta; Castaño, Argelia; Govarts, Eva; Koch, Holger; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike

doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114101

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…With respect to Category A substances (those with an already good database), our observations of generally decreasing time patterns for DEHP, DiBP, DnBP, and BBzP showed higher exposures in the young age groups compared to the elders (except DEP), and some regions had higher exposures than others for some phthalates [ 17 , 40 , 55 ], which is in good agreement with the results of the individual longitudinal time trend studies [ 15 ] and cross-sectional studies that were part of the HBM4EU Aligned Studies in children and teenagers [ 16 , 56 ]. Although exposure to phthalates in some European countries has been described in a harmonized manner in COPHES/DEMOCOPHES [ 17 ], this project only focused on the groups of 6–11-year-old children and their mothers, and reflects exposure from a decade ago (2011–2012).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Since this approach focused on existing data, the analytical data were not necessarily generated under a common external analytical quality assurance scheme guaranteeing utmost comparability. Such an approach, designed for a common, harmonized chemical analyses, has also been developed within HBM4EU [ 46 , 47 ] and applied to recently collected samples [ 16 ]. However, the general data quality of studies included in our current approach was evaluated by the study owners, supported upon request by the analytical experts within HBM4EU.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of course, COPHES/DEMOCOPHES data were included in this approach, but they reflected only one part of the mosaic, as it only included mother–child pairs, with sample collection from 2011–2012. In HBM4EU, several research protocols were developed to investigate and answer policy questions on the group of phthalates: cumulative mixture risk exposure to phthalates in children and adolescents [ 13 ], impact and results indicators for European HBM [ 14 ], time trends of phthalates and DINCH with repeated cross-sectional data [ 15 ], current exposure of European children and adolescents to phthalates and DINCH [ 16 ], exposure determinants in the European population (in preparation), and exposure distributions for various age groups of the European population from 2005 to 2019 (this study).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exposure to Phthalates in European Children, Adolescents and Adults since 2005: A Harmonized Approach Based on Existing HBM Data in the HBM4EU Initiative

Vogel

Lange

Schmidt

et al. 2023

Toxics

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Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers and are associated inter alia with adverse effects on reproductive functions. While more and more national programs in Europe have started monitoring internal exposure to phthalates and its substitute 1,2-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (DINCH), the comparability of results from such existing human biomonitoring (HBM) studies across Europe is challenging. They differ widely in time periods, study samples, degree of geographical coverage, design, analytical methodology, biomarker selection, and analytical quality assurance level. The HBM4EU initiative has gathered existing HBM data of 29 studies from participating countries, covering all European regions and Israel. The data were prepared and aggregated by a harmonized procedure with the aim to describe—as comparably as possible—the EU-wide general population’s internal exposure to phthalates from the years 2005 to 2019. Most data were available from Northern (up to 6 studies and up to 13 time points), Western (11; 19), and Eastern Europe (9; 12), e.g., allowing for the investigation of time patterns. While the bandwidth of exposure was generally similar, we still observed regional differences for Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP), and Di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP) with pronounced decreases over time in Northern and Western Europe, and to a lesser degree in Eastern Europe. Differences between age groups were visible for Di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), where children (3 to 5-year olds and 6 to 11-year olds) had lower urinary concentrations than adolescents (12 to 19-year-olds), who in turn had lower urinary concentrations than adults (20 to 39-year-olds). This study is a step towards making internal exposures to phthalates comparable across countries, although standardized data were not available, targeting European data sets harmonized with respect to data formatting and calculation of aggregated data (such as developed within HBM4EU), and highlights further suggestions for improved harmonization in future studies.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exposure to Phthalates in European Children, Adolescents and Adults since 2005: A Harmonized Approach Based on Existing HBM Data in the HBM4EU Initiative

Vogel

Lange

Schmidt

et al. 2023

Toxics

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“…The comparison of urinary DEHTP, DINCH, and DEHA metabolite levels in similar aged children from different countries is shown in Table . Japanese children have much lower exposure levels than children in Indonesia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, and Portugal. ,,− Among the above-mentioned countries, DEHTP and DINCH metabolites were the highest in Saudi children . For instance, the median of 5cx-MEPTP in Saudi children with 128 μg/L was more than 90 times higher than this study’s Japanese children with 1.36 μg/L, but also compared to those in the United States. , DEHTP exposures are approximately 40 times lower in Japan.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Exposure Trends to the Non-phthalate Plasticizers DEHTP, DINCH, and DEHA in Children from 2012 to 2017: The Hokkaido Study

Ketema

Kasper-Sonnenberg

Bamai

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Phthalates owing to their endocrine-disrupting effects are regulated in certain products, leading to their replacement with substitutions such as di-2-ethylhexyl terephthalate (DEHTP), 1,2-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid di(isononyl) ester (DINCH), and di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA). However, information on human exposure to these substitutes, especially in susceptible subpopulations such as children, is limited. Thus, we examined the levels and exposure trends of DEHTP, DINCH, and DEHA metabolites in 7 year-old Japanese school children. In total, 180 urine samples collected from 2012 to 2017 were used to quantify 10 DEHTP, DINCH, and DEHA metabolites via isotope dilution liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. DEHTP and DINCH metabolites were detected in 95.6 and 92.2% of the children, respectively, and DEHA was not detected. This study, annually conducted between 2012 and 2017, revealed a significant (p < 0.05) 5-fold increase in DEHTP metabolites and a 2-fold increase in DINCH metabolites. However, the maximum estimated internal exposures were still below the health-based guidance and toxicological reference values. Exposure levels to DEHTP and DINCH have increased considerably in Japanese school children. DEHA is less relevant. Future studies are warranted to closely monitor the increasing trend in different aged and larger populations and identify the potential health effects and sources contributing to increasing exposure and intervene if necessary.

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“…For example, while currently available evidence suggests that the detected alternative plasticizers may be safer than restricted ortho-phthalates, many are present in high concentrations in the samples (especially DINCH and DEHT) and their continued release may cause significant exposure and render them ubiquitous in the environment. 19,89 Furthermore, research on the environmental and human health effects of alternative plasticizers and stabilizers is ongoing, which may warrant further assessment in the future. 19,[26][27][28][29]90 In addition, some other hazardous substances could have been present in the samples but are not detected/quantified in this study, chemically and/or through bioassays.…”

Section: Other Hazardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legacy and Emerging Plasticizers and Stabilizers in PVC Floorings and Implications for Recycling

Wiesinger,

Bleuler,

Christen

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Hazardous chemicals in building and construction plastics can lead to health risks due to indoor exposure and may contaminate recycled materials. We systematically sampled new polyvinyl chloride floorings on the Swiss market (n = 151). We performed elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence, targeted and suspect gas chromatography−mass spectrometry analysis of ortho-phthalates and alternative plasticizers, and bioassay tests for cytotoxicity and oxidative stress, and endocrine, mutagenic, and genotoxic activities (for selected samples). Surprisingly, 16% of the samples contained regulated chemicals above 0.1 wt %, mainly lead and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). Their presence is likely related to the use of recycled PVC in new flooring, highlighting that uncontrolled recycling can delay the phase-out of hazardous chemicals. Besides DEHP, 29% of the samples contained other ortho-phthalates (mainly diisononyl and diisodecyl phthalates, DiNP and DiDP) above 0.1 wt %, and 17% of the samples indicated a potential to cause biological effects. Considering some overlap between these groups, they together make up an additional 35% of the samples of potential concern. Moreover, both suspect screening and bioassay results indicate the presence of additional potentially hazardous substances. Overall, our study highlights the urgent need to accelerate the phase-out of hazardous substances, increase the transparency of chemical compositions in plastics to protect human and ecosystem health, and enable the transition to a safe and sustainable circular economy.

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Current exposure to phthalates and DINCH in European children and adolescents – Results from the HBM4EU Aligned Studies 2014 to 2021

Cited by 22 publications

References 25 publications

Exposure to Phthalates in European Children, Adolescents and Adults since 2005: A Harmonized Approach Based on Existing HBM Data in the HBM4EU Initiative

Exposure to Phthalates in European Children, Adolescents and Adults since 2005: A Harmonized Approach Based on Existing HBM Data in the HBM4EU Initiative

Exposure Trends to the Non-phthalate Plasticizers DEHTP, DINCH, and DEHA in Children from 2012 to 2017: The Hokkaido Study

Legacy and Emerging Plasticizers and Stabilizers in PVC Floorings and Implications for Recycling

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