Phthalate Metabolites in Urine of Chinese Children and Their Association with Asthma and Allergic Symptoms

Yuxuan Zhao; Yuexia Sun; Changqi Zhu; Ying Zhang; Jing Hou; Qinghao Zhang; Yeganeh Ataei

doi:10.3390/ijerph192114083

Phthalate Metabolites in Urine of Chinese Children and Their Association with Asthma and Allergic Symptoms

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct 28;19(21):14083. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192114083.

Authors

Yuxuan Zhao¹, Yuexia Sun¹, Changqi Zhu¹, Ying Zhang², Jing Hou¹, Qinghao Zhang¹, Yeganeh Ataei¹

Affiliations

¹ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Indoor Air Environmental Quality Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China.
² School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China.

Abstract

Phthalates are ubiquitous 'modern' chemical compounds with potential negative impacts on children's health. A nested case-control study was designed to investigate associations of phthalate exposure with children's asthma and allergic symptoms. We collected 243 first morning urine samples from 4-8-year-old children in Tianjin, China. Eight metabolites (i.e., mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) and mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-carboxylpentyl) phthalate (MECPP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP) and mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP)) of five phthalates were analyzed using HPLC-MS. MiBP, MnBP and MECPP were the dominant phthalate metabolites in urine of children in Tianjin with median concentrations of 31.6 μg/L, 26.24 μg/L and 46.12 μg/L, respectively. We found significantly positive associations of diagnosed asthma with MnBP (adjusted odds ratios (AOR): 1.96; 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.07-3.61), MEHHP (AOR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.08-3.71) and MEOHP (AOR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.06-4.10). Our study indicates that phthalate exposure in childhood, especially to di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), may be a risk factor for children's asthma.

Keywords: allergy; biomarkers; endocrine disruptors; phthalate metabolites.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Asthma* / chemically induced
Asthma* / epidemiology
Case-Control Studies
Child
Child, Preschool
Environmental Exposure
Environmental Pollutants* / urine
Humans
Phthalic Acids* / urine

Substances

phthalic acid
Environmental Pollutants
mono-isobutyl phthalate
monobutyl phthalate
Phthalic Acids

Grants and funding

This study is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21207097), Key Research, Development Program of Tianjin Science and Technology Commission (19YFZCSN01170) and Tianjin University Graduate Education Fund 2021 (C1-2021-009).