Abstract
Carrying out exposure studies on children who are not toilet trained is challenging because of the difficulty of urine sampling. In this study, we optimized a protocol for urine collection from disposable diapers for the analysis of phthalate metabolites. The exposure of Swiss children (n = 113) between 6 months and 3 years of life to seven phthalates was assessed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry measurements. The study showed limited exposures to phthalates, with only 22% of the samples containing some of the metabolites investigated. The three most frequently detected metabolites were monoethyl phthalate, mono-cyclohexyl phthalate, and mono-benzyl phthalate. We also detected mono-n-octyl phthalate and mono(3,5,5-trimethylhexyl) phthalate, which have rarely been observed in urine from infants and toddlers; therefore, di-n-octyl phthalate and bis(3,5,5-trimethylhexyl) phthalate can be considered as potentially new emerging phthalates. This study presents an initial snapshot of the Swiss children’s exposure to phthalates and provides a promising approach for further phthalate biomonitoring studies on young children using disposable diapers as urine sampling technique.
Highlights
Phthalates are organic compounds used in a large variety of industrial applications as solvents, plasticizers, and additives [1]
Phthalate exposures have been linked to numerous reproductive, developmental, metabolic, respiratory, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), in particular, decreased male fertility and preterm birth, and diabetes and insulin resistance, for which associations are strong [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
An optimized protocol for urine collection from disposable diapers for the analysis of phthalate metabolites was developed and tested in this study. It was possible with this approach, to quantify internal exposures to seven phthalate metabolites in infants, toddlers, and young children
Summary
Phthalates are organic compounds used in a large variety of industrial applications as solvents, plasticizers, and additives [1] Due to their widespread utilization, phthalates are present in many types of products such as food packaging, cosmetics, medical devices, toys, dentures, paints, adhesives, and nail polishes [1]. This class of compounds gives flexibility and durability to plastic products [2]. Phthalates are not chemically bound to the polymers and can leach out during use Handling these phthalate-containing products can lead to significant exposures to phthalates [2]. Phthalate exposures have been linked to numerous reproductive, developmental, metabolic, respiratory, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), in particular, decreased male fertility and preterm birth, and diabetes and insulin resistance, for which associations are strong [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
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