Exposure to endocrine disrupters and cardiometabolic health effects in preschool children: Urinary parabens are associated with wider retinal venular vessels

Brigitte Reimann; Hanne Sleurs; Yinthe Dockx; Leen Rasking; Patrick De Boever; Catherine Pirard; Corinne Charlier; Tim S Nawrot; Michelle Plusquin

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138570

Exposure to endocrine disrupters and cardiometabolic health effects in preschool children: Urinary parabens are associated with wider retinal venular vessels

Chemosphere. 2023 Jul:328:138570. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138570. Epub 2023 Apr 3.

Authors

Brigitte Reimann¹, Hanne Sleurs¹, Yinthe Dockx¹, Leen Rasking¹, Patrick De Boever², Catherine Pirard³, Corinne Charlier³, Tim S Nawrot⁴, Michelle Plusquin⁵

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
² Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium; Health Unit, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Mol, Belgium.
³ Laboratory of Clinical, Forensic and Environmental Toxicology, CHU of Liege, B35, 4000, Liege, Belgium; Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Medicines (CIRM), University of Liege (ULg), CHU, (B35), 4000, Liege, Belgium.
⁴ Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium; Department of Public Health, Environment & Health Unit, Leuven University (KU Leuven), 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
⁵ Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium. Electronic address: michelle.plusquin@uhasselt.be.

PMID: 37019399
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138570

Abstract

Background and aim: Parabens are widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in personal care products. Studies investigating obesogenic or cardiovascular effects of parabens show discordant results, while data on preschool children are lacking. Paraben exposure during early childhood could have profound cardiometabolic effects later in life.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study paraben concentrations [methyl (MeP), ethyl (EtP), propyl (PrP), butyl (BuP)] were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry in 300 urinary samples of 4-6-year-old children of the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort. Paraben values below the limit of quantitation (LOQ) were imputed by censored likelihood multiple imputation. The associations between log-transformed paraben values and cardiometabolic measurements (BMI z-scores, waist circumference, blood pressure and retinal microvasculature) were analyzed in multiple linear regression models with a priori selected covariates. Effect modification by sex was investigated by including interaction terms.

Results: Geometric means (geometric SD) of urinary MeP, EtP, and PrP levels above the LOQ were 32.60 (6.64), 1.26 (3.45), and 4.82 (4.11) μg/L, respectively. For BuP more than 96% of all measurements were below the LOQ. Regarding the microvasculature, we found direct associations between MeP and central retinal venular equivalent (β = 1.23, p = 0.039) and PrP with the retinal tortuosity index (x10³⁾(β = 1.75, p = 0.0044). Furthermore, we identified inverse associations between MeP and ∑parabens with BMI z-scores (β = -0.067, p = 0.015 and β = -0.070, p = 0.014 respectively), and EtP with mean arterial pressure (β = -0.69, p = 0.048). The direction of association between EtP and BMI z-scores showed evidence for sex-specific differences with a direct trend in boys (β = 0.10, p = 0.060).

Conclusions: Already at young age paraben exposure is associated with potentially adverse changes in the retinal microvasculature.

Keywords: BMI z-Scores; Cardiovascular health; Child's health; ENVIRONAGE; Parabens; Retinal microvasculature.

MeSH terms

Cardiovascular Diseases* / urine
Child
Child, Preschool
Cross-Sectional Studies
Environmental Exposure* / statistics & numerical data
Environmental Pollutants* / analysis
Female
Humans
Male
Parabens* / metabolism

Substances

Environmental Pollutants
Parabens