Influence of Vegetarian Dietary Intervention on Urinary Paraben Concentrations: A Pilot Study with ‘Temple Stay’ Participants

Abstract

Personal care products and cosmetics have been identified as major sources of paraben exposure among humans. However, the contribution of dietary factors has not been well understood. We recruited temple stay participants (n = 25) who followed a strict Buddhist vegetarian diet during a five-day period, and assessed the influence of this lifestyle change, employing their urine samples collected before and after the temple stay. Before the temple stay, methylparaben (MeP) was detected at the highest levels, followed by ethylparaben (EtP), propylparaben (PrP), butylparaben (BuP), and benzophenones (BPs) in the urine samples. Following the temple stay, the urinary EtP concentrations remarkably increased from 14.0 to 105 μg/L, and were around two orders of magnitude higher than those reported from other countries. Dietary factors associated with the temple diet may partly explain the increase, because EtP is allowed in Korea for seasoning and condiments, which are frequently added in vegetarian diets. Following the temple stay, however, MeP, PrP, and BPs did not show significant decreasing trends. In contrast, BuP levels decreased significantly, especially in male urine samples, that is, from 3.60 to 1.03 μ/L, suggesting a reduced use of certain personal care products during the temple stay. Our observations outline the potential importance of dietary factors on EtP exposure, and might help explain its high exposure levels among Korean population.

Profile of Environmental Chemicals in the Korean Population—Results of the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) Cycle 3, 2015–2017

“…Use of liquid soaps, including shower gel and shampoo, was also associated with ethyl paraben levels [ 77 ]. An analysis of ethyl paraben intake by food type according to the result of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, found it was primarily consumed through sauces and mixed soy sauce [ 82 ]. Therefore, further detailed analyses are needed on food types, ingredients, and current consumption patterns.…”

Lifestyle interventions to reduce endocrine-disrupting phthalate and phenol exposures among reproductive age men and women: A review and future steps

“…2 ). ( Sathyanarayana et al, 2013 ; Park and Chung, 2021 ; Galloway et al, 2018 ; Szybiak et al, 2017 ; Barrett et al, 2015 ; Carwile et al, 2011 ; Rudel et al, 2011 ; Peng et al, 2019 ; Kim et al, 2020 ; Kim et al, 2021 ; Ley et al, 2017 ; Hagobian et al, 2017 ; Harley et al, 2016 ; Hagobian et al, 2021 ; Rutkowska et al, 2020 ; van der Meer et al, 2021 ; Jo et al, 2020 ; Chen et al, 2015 ; Christensen et al, 2012 ) Overall, five primary interventions and two supplementary interventions had participants outside their reproductive years (e.g., families, mother–child pairs); however, the majority (n = 16 primary) had a study population exclusively in their reproductive years. Commonalities among several of these interventions included: 1) distribution of pre- and post- (and sometimes mid-) questionnaires to capture or predict potential sources of exposure, 2) urine samples to measure changes in phthalate and or phenol concentrations, though sometimes blood or household dust were also used, and 3) educational materials or discussion groups/interviews to inform participants about EDCs and sources of exposure in their immediate environment (focus of these materials depended on the intervention type).…”

“…Of the 21 identified studies, dietary intervention was the most popular approach to reducing EDC exposure. We identified 14 dietary intervention studies; most only focused on phenols (n = 9) ( Table 3 ) ( Sathyanarayana et al, 2013 ; El Ouazzani et al, 2021 ; Park and Chung, 2021 ; Galloway et al, 2018 ; Szybiak et al, 2017 ; Barrett et al, 2015 ; Carwile et al, 2011 ; Rudel et al, 2011 ; Peng et al, 2019 ; Kim et al, 2020 ; van der Meer et al, 2021 ; Jo et al, 2020 ; Chen et al, 2015 ; Christensen et al, 2012 ) Only two interventions exclusively investigated phthalate exposure ( Barrett et al, 2015 ) and ( Chen et al, 2015 ) and three focused on both phthalates and phenols ( Sathyanarayana et al, 2013 ; Rudel et al, 2011 ; van der Meer et al, 2021 ; Barrett et al, 2015 ; Sathyanarayana et al, 2013 ; Rudel et al, 2011 ). Study populations included pregnant women, college students, families, teenagers, and women (not pregnant); five interventions had exclusively female populations ( El Ouazzani et al, 2021 ; Park and Chung, 2021 ; Szybiak et al, 2017 ; Barrett et al, 2015 ; Chen et al, 2015 ).…”

“…Selected interventions were further categorized into dietary interventions, behavioral interventions, and residential interventions. Dietary interventions included any intervention that focused on dietary exposures (water, food, plastic food containers, canned food); 14 interventions fit this criterion ( Sathyanarayana et al, 2013 ; El Ouazzani et al, 2021 ; Park and Chung, 2021 ; Galloway et al, 2018 ; Szybiak et al, 2017 ; Barrett et al, 2015 ; Carwile et al, 2011 ; Rudel et al, 2011 ; Peng et al, 2019 ; Kim et al, 2020 ; van der Meer et al, 2021 ; Jo et al, 2020 ; Chen et al, 2015 ; Christensen et al, 2012 ). Behavioral interventions were defined as those that concentrated efforts towards personal care products or other exposures to phthalates and phenols through product use; six interventions fit this category ( Ley et al, 2017 ; Hagobian et al, 2017 ; Harley et al, 2016 ; Hagobian et al, 2021 ).…”

Impact of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Breast Milk on Postpartum Depression in Korean Mothers

“…This suggests that parabens may cause PPD by similar mechanisms to those observed with other EDCs. The EP concentration in Koreans is relatively high compared to that in other populations, due to fermented foods and relatively relaxed environmental policies [ 22 , 47 , 59 , 60 ]. Thus, further studies are needed on the mechanisms of paraben and the effects on negative health including PPD.…”