Association between parabens exposure and neurodevelopment in children

Chia-Jung Tung; Mei-Huei Chen; Ching-Chun Lin; Pau-Chung Chen

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2024.108671

Association between parabens exposure and neurodevelopment in children

Environ Int. 2024 Apr 16:188:108671. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108671. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Chia-Jung Tung¹, Mei-Huei Chen², Ching-Chun Lin¹, Pau-Chung Chen³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan; Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan. Electronic address: pchen@ntu.edu.tw.

PMID: 38749119
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108671

Abstract

Objective: Parabens are a group of substances commonly employed as antimicrobial preservatives. The effect of parabens on the development of neurotoxicity in children is still controversial. This study aimed to explore the associations between parabens exposure and children's neurodevelopmental performance, emphasizing potential sex differences and the combined effects of parabens.

Methods: We used the long-term follow-up study of Taiwanese generation, Taiwan Birth Panel Study II (TBPS II). We recruited the group of children at 6-8 years old. And, we measured parabens in children urine, including methylparaben (MP), ethylparaben (EP), propylparaben (PP) and butylparaben (BP). Children's attention-related performance was evaluated using the Conners Kiddie Continuous Performance Test 2nd Edition (K-CPT 2). The study employed both linear regression and mixture analysis quantile g-computation (QGC) methods to discern associations. A stratified analysis by sex and QGC was implemented to delve deeper into the cumulative effects of parabens.

Results: A total of 446 subjects completed both the parabens analysis and the K-CPT 2 survey. The overall association between parabens and neurodevelopmental performance was not pronounced, but discernible sex differences emerged. In the single pollutant analysis, elevated PP concentrations were associated with higher K-CPT 2 scores particularly in detectability (d') (β = 0.92 [95 % CI = 0.15 to 1.69]) and commissions (β = 0.95 [95 % CI = 0.12 to 1.78]), among girls. Further, in the mixture analysis, a significant association between PP and detectability (d') was observed in girls (β = 1.68 [95 % CI = 0.11 to 3.26]).

Conclusions: This study identified sex-specific associations between parabens and attention performance. Consistent outcomes across single and mixture analysis methods. Further research is crucial to clarify these causal associations.

Keywords: ADHD; Children; Health; K-CPT 2; Paraben.