Temporal Trends of Exposure to Phthalates and Phthalate Alternatives in California Pregnant Women during 2007–2013: Comparison with Other Populations

Abstract

Phthalates with potential adverse health effects are being replaced by other phthalates or phthalate alternatives. Little is known about temporal trends of phthalate exposure in pregnant women in the United States. We quantified 16 metabolites of eight phthalates and di(isononyl) cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DINCH) in 656 urine samples collected from 192 California pregnant women in 2007−2013 during their second and third trimesters of pregnancy who participated in the MARBLES (Markers of Autism Risk in BabiesLearning Early Signs) study. We used multiple regression to estimate least squares geometric means of phthalate biomarker concentrations and annual percent changes over the study period. Biomarker concentrations of diethyl phthalate (DEP) and three phthalates with known toxicity and adverse health effects (i.e., butyl benzyl phthalate [BBzP], dibutyl phthalate [DBP], di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate [DEHP]) decreased, while those of di-isobutyl phthalate [DiBP], di-isononyl phthalate [DiNP], and di-n-octyl phthalate [DOP] increased in California pregnant women during our study period.To understand broad social forces that may influence temporal trends and geographic variations in phthalate exposure across countries, we compared our phthalate biomarker concentrations with those of other populations. We observed over a factor of 2 differences in exposure across countries for some phthalate biomarkers and between pregnant and nonpregnant women for DEP.

Exposure Characteristics of Phthalate Metabolites Among The Zunyi Cohort of Pregnant Women in Southwest China

“…al., 2020), Japan(Suzuki et al, 2010) United States(Shin et al, 2020), Taiwan, China(Hsieh et al, 2020), Iran(Darvishmotevalli et al, 2019) and Israel(Berman et al, 2009); by contrast, the detectable rates measured herein for MMP, MB Z P, and MEOHP are signi cantly lower than those reported in the studies just mentioned. Remarkably, the detectable rate of MOP was observed to vary greatly between studies: the lowest reported values are 0.5%, from a study conducted in Denmark (Tefre et al, 2014), and 63%, from a study conducted in Poland(Polańska et al, 2016), which are signi cantly lower values than that measured herein, 87.1%.…”

Temporal Trends of Phenol, Paraben, and Triclocarban Exposure in California Pregnant Women during 2007–2014

“…Pregnant women's exposure to these compounds differed by sociodemographic characteristics and use frequency of products potentially containing these compounds before urine collection. 44−53 In our previous study, 54 we learned that broad social forces may have influenced temporal trends and geographic variations in pregnant women's phthalate exposure. Thus, the same study approach may help identify similar broad social forces related to pregnant women's phenol, paraben, and TCC exposure.…”

Gestational Phthalate Exposure and Preschool Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Norway

“…During this time, DiNP was frequently used as a substitute for DEHP 67 and levels of its metabolites have increased in pregnant women in the United States and Europe. 68 The structural similarities that make DiNP a useful substitute may partially explain why these two chemicals show similarly strong associations with preschool ADHD in this study. Third, NPR cases are likely a biased subset of ADHD cases as a whole, representing a higher degree of impairment, underidentifying girls, and requiring both hyperactive and inattentive symptoms.…”