Urinary levels of phthalate metabolites and their association with lifestyle behaviors in Chinese adolescents and young adults

Shuang Ding; Zhaoming Zhang; Yingjie Chen; Wen Qi; Yuezhu Zhang; Qi Xu; Hongbo Liu; Tianrong Zhang; Yaming Zhao; Xu Han; Xinyue Song; Tianyang Zhao; Lin Ye

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109541

Urinary levels of phthalate metabolites and their association with lifestyle behaviors in Chinese adolescents and young adults

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2019 Nov 15:183:109541. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109541. Epub 2019 Aug 13.

Authors

Shuang Ding¹, Zhaoming Zhang¹, Yingjie Chen¹, Wen Qi¹, Yuezhu Zhang¹, Qi Xu¹, Hongbo Liu¹, Tianrong Zhang¹, Yaming Zhao¹, Xu Han¹, Xinyue Song¹, Tianyang Zhao¹, Lin Ye²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
² Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China. Electronic address: jlyelin@163.com.

PMID: 31419700
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109541

Abstract

Background: Adolescence and young adulthood are critical periods of human growth and development. Phthalates are environmental endocrine disruptors, and their health hazards in adolescents and young adults cannot be ignored. This study was undertaken to assess phthalate exposure and determine the associations between lifestyle behaviors and phthalate metabolite levels in Chinese adolescents and young adults.

Methods: Four hundred and seventy-eight adolescents and young adults aged 16-20 years were included in this study. The levels of mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-butyl phthalate (MBP), mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP) and mono-(2-carboxmethyl)-hexyl phthalate (MCMHP) in the subjects' urine were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The estimated daily intake (EDI) and hazard index (HI) of phthalates were calculated based on urinary metabolite levels. Relevant information on the subjects was collected via questionnaires. The associations between phthalate metabolite levels and lifestyle behaviors were examined using the independent-sample t-test, Mann-Whitney test and multiple linear regression.

Results: In this study, the detection rates of all seven metabolites were >98%. The highest median metabolite concentration was MBP, which was 43.00 μg/L (33.11 μg/g creatinine). The highest median EDI was for di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), which was 2.40 μg/kg-bw/day (volume-based) and 1.51 μg/kg-bw/day (creatinine-based). 2.7% (volume-based) and 1.0% (creatinine-based) of the subjects showed excessive HI_TDI (HI of the tolerable daily intake) values, which indicated the cumulative risk of anti-androgenic effects. Furthermore, factors significantly associated with phthalate metabolite levels included the use of plastic food packages (DEHP metabolites), physical exercise (MEOHP), the frequency of fast food consumption (MBP), and the frequency of skin care cosmetics and color cosmetics use (MEP).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that Chinese adolescents and young adults are widely exposed to phthalates and their metabolite levels are influenced by lifestyle behaviors.

Keywords: Adolescent; China; Exposure; Lifestyle behavior; Phthalate; Young adult.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior / drug effects*
Adult
China
Creatinine / urine
Cross-Sectional Studies
Endocrine Disruptors / urine*
Environmental Exposure / analysis*
Female
Health Behavior / drug effects*
Humans
Life Style*
Linear Models
Male
Phthalic Acids / urine*
Risk Assessment
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult

Substances

Endocrine Disruptors
Phthalic Acids
phthalic acid
Creatinine