Effect of prenatal exposure to phthalates on birth weight of offspring: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Prenatal exposure to phthalates is common. However, its effect on birth weight has always been met with conflicting conclusions. To explore the effects of prenatal phthalate exposure on neonatal weight, we searched PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Cochrane Library, and Embase databases for articles published up to October 24, 2023. Observational studies with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were included. Our findings indicate no significant association between either mixed exposure effects or single phthalate metabolites and offspring birth weight when monitoring maternal urine phthalate metabolites. When stratified by sex, ΣHMWPs and MMP significantly reduced the birth weight of female offspring (ΣHMWPs: Pooled β = −62.08, 95%CI: −123.11 to −1.05, P = 0.046; MMP: Pooled β = −10.77, 95%CI: −18.74 to −2.80, P = 0.008). The results of subgroup analysis showed that ΣPAEs and ΣDEHP significantly decreased birth weight in the specific gravity correction group (ΣPAEs: Pooled estimates = −29.31, 95%CI: −58.52 to −0.10, P = 0.049; ΣDEHP: Pooled estimates = −18.25, 95%CI: −33.03 to −3.47, P = 0.016), and MECPP showed a positive correlation in the creatinine correction group (MECPP: Pooled estimates = 18.45, 95%CI: 0.13 to 36.77, P = 0.048). MEP and MBzP were negatively associated with birth weight in the no adjustment for gestational age group (MEP: Pooled estimates = −7.70, 95%CI: −14.19 to −1.21, P = 0.020; MBzP: Pooled estimates = −9.55, 95%CI: −16.08 to −3.03, P = 0.004). To make the results more convincing, more high-quality studies with large samples are urgently required.