{In utero} paraben exposure and evidence of obesogenic effects - Associations between placental ethyl paraben and cord blood metabolic biomarkers

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Parabens are used as antimicrobial preservatives in personal care products. Few studies had dealt with adverse health outcome, transplacental transfer, and obesogenic effects of exposure to parabens. We investigated potential obesogenic effects of {in utero} paraben exposure of the fetus by assessing the association between placental paraben levels and cord blood metabolic biomarkers, considering modulating effects of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI. METHODS: Placental concentrations of four parabens [methyl (MeP), ethyl (EtP), propyl (PrP), and butyl (BuP)] were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry in 229 placentas of the ENVIR{ON}AGE birth cohort. The association between placental parabens and cord blood metabolic biomarkers [glucose, insulin, γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), high-density and low-density lipoprotein (HDL and LDL)] was analyzed in multiple regression models with two different sets of, {a priori} selected potential confounders, and additionally stratified for different maternal BMI groups. RESULTS:The geometric means of placental MeP, EtP, PrP, and BuP levels above the limit of detection (LOD) were 4.42, 1.32, 1.51, and 0.35 ng/g respectively, with only EtP showing sufficient (88%) measurements above LOD for further analyses. An interquartile ratio (IQR) increase in placental EtP was associated with an increase of 12.61 % (95% CI: 1.80, 24.57) in the geometric mean of cord GGT activity, and with a decrease of -3.64 % (95% CI: -6.80, -0.39) in the geometric mean of cord glucose. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was inversely correlated with cord blood GGT (r = -0.14, p = 0. 045). CONCLUSIONS:Prenatal EtP exposure could contribute to adverse health outcomes later in life by modifying metabolic processes {in utero}. The association of placental EtP with cord blood GGT and glucose levels provides a starting point for further research aiming to unravel the mechanism of action of paraben-related metabolic effects. KEYWORDS: Endocrine disrupting chemicals, Obesity and metabolic disorders, Children's environmental health, Environmental epidemiology