The Association Between Urinary Phthalates and Lung Function

Abstract

Objective:To investigate the influence of phthalate exposure on lung function in the Canadian population.Methods:We tested the association between 1-second forced expiratory volume (FEVl), forced vital capacity (FVC), and urinary phthalate metabolite levels in a nationally representative sample of 3147, from 6 to 49 years old.Results:An interquartile increase in mono-n-butyl phthalate was associated with decreases in percent predicted FEV1 of 0.8% (95% confidence interval = 0.3 to 1.4) and in FVC of 0.9% (95% confidence interval = 0.3 to 1.5). Results were similar for mono-3-carboxypropyl phthalate, mono-benzyl phthalate, and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites, but significant effects of the latter were only seen in males and those at least 17 years old.Conclusions:These results provide evidence that phthalate exposure may adversely affect lung function in the Canadian population. Given that these chemicals are ubiquitous, the population health burden may be significant if the associations were causal.

The influence of demographic and lifestyle factors on urinary levels of PAH metabolites—empirical analyses of Cycle 2 (2009–2011) CHMS data

“…Despite the conclusions of the aforementioned Cakmak et al [83] study, the data examined herein can alternatively be analysed using uncorrected metabolite concentration as the dependent variable and urinary creatinine concentration as an explanatory variable in the regression models. These additional analyses confirmed most of the explanatory variable effects listed in Table 2.…”

“…Creatinine is often used as an indicator of dilution in urinary biomarker analyses, including analyses of CHMS biomonitoring data [31,83,84]. The traditional and commonly used approach simply divides the concentration of the analyte by the urinary concentration of creatinine, thereby providing concentration values expressed by unit creatinine.…”

“…The traditional and commonly used approach simply divides the concentration of the analyte by the urinary concentration of creatinine, thereby providing concentration values expressed by unit creatinine. A previous study of CHMS urinary PAH metabolite data by Cakmak et al [83] compared two approaches for creatinine adjustment, i.e., creatinine adjustment of metabolite concentration values, and inclusion of creatinine concentration in the statistical model(s) examined. The authors noted that both approaches produced similar results [83].…”

“…A previous study of CHMS urinary PAH metabolite data by Cakmak et al [83] compared two approaches for creatinine adjustment, i.e., creatinine adjustment of metabolite concentration values, and inclusion of creatinine concentration in the statistical model(s) examined. The authors noted that both approaches produced similar results [83]. Thus, in the context of the current study, it was reasonable to conduct the analyses using creatinine-corrected PAH metabolite values, i.e., values expressed as metabolite per unit urinary creatinine.…”

Pollution, climate change, and childhood asthma in Australia

“…Knibbs and his co‐authors also suggest that indoor exposures other than those they explored may also contribute to respiratory disease in young children 7 . Indeed, an increasing array of contaminants of indoor air are thought to contribute to wheeze and asthma, including household chemicals (especially those in aerosol sprays), 6 plasticisers, bisphenols and phthalates, 9 and pesticides and flame retardants 10 . One factor that Knibbs and colleagues did not explicitly discuss is that the range hoods fitted in many (possibly most) Australian apartments are not externally vented, but recirculate fumes into the kitchen through filters unlikely to remove NO 2 .…”