Association between exposure to phenols and parabens and cognitive function in older adults in the United States: A cross-sectional study

Yisen Shi; Huaicheng Wang; Zhibao Zhu; Qinyong Ye; Fabin Lin; Guoen Cai

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160129

Association between exposure to phenols and parabens and cognitive function in older adults in the United States: A cross-sectional study

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Feb 1;858(Pt 3):160129. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160129. Epub 2022 Nov 9.

Authors

Yisen Shi¹, Huaicheng Wang², Zhibao Zhu³, Qinyong Ye⁴, Fabin Lin⁵, Guoen Cai⁶

Affiliations

¹ Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 35001, China; Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou 35001, China.
² Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 35001, China.
³ Department of Neurology, Fujian Institute of Geriatrics, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Institute of Neuroscience, Fujian Medical University, 88 Jiaotong Road, Fuzhou 350005, Fujian, China.
⁴ Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou 35001, China.
⁵ Department of Neurosurgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou 35001, China. Electronic address: fabinlin@fjmu.edu.cn.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou 35001, China. Electronic address: cgessmu@fjmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36370798
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160129

Abstract

Background: People are commonly exposed to mixtures of parabens and phenols. Most studies investigating such exposure and cognitive performance tend to assess only single chemicals, and the tools used to assess cognitive function are not uniform.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between multiple parabens and phenols and cognitive function in older Americans.

Methods: The study included data of older Americans from two cycles of the NHANES survey. Participants were divided into normal cognitive performance and low cognitive performance groups based on the scores of four cognitive tests: the Immediate Recall test (IRT), the Delayed Recall test (DRT), the Animal Fluency test (AFT) and the Digit Symbol Substitution test (DSST). Generalized linear regression models (GLMs), restricted cubic spline (RCS), weighted quantile sum (WQS) and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used to assess relationships between chemical exposure and cognitive performance.

Results: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 961 participants, 470 males and 491 females, were included. GLMs revealed positive association between high levels of bisphenol A (BPA) and low cognitive performance on DRT, especially in male (OR (95%CI): 2.25 (1.10-4.61)), and this association was consistent with WQS and BKMR. In female participants, the third quartile of BPA exposure showed a positive association with low cognition on IRT and global cognition. GLMs also showed that high levels of propylparaben were positively associated with cognitive performance on the IRT in male participants (OR (95%CI): 0.37 (0.18-0.76)). In BKMR, an overall positive correlation between the mixture and low cognition as measured with DRT was observed in male subjects when the mixture was at the 65th percentile or higher.

Conclusion: Exposure to a mixture of parabens and phenols was positively associated with low cognitive performance on DRT in older male subjects, while BPA was the main driver of this outcome.

Keywords: BKMR; Chemical mixtures; WQS.

MeSH terms

Animals
Bayes Theorem
Cognition*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Male
Nutrition Surveys
United States