Abstract

ImportancePhthalates are ubiquitous and many are known or suspected human reproductive and endocrine-disrupting toxicants. A data gap exists in reporting on biomonitoring of phthalate biomarkers in college-aged adults.ObjectiveTo analyze phthalate exposure in a cross-sectional sample of female college students using urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations and compare to reference populations including college-aged women sampled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).MethodsNine monoester phthalate metabolites were analyzed in spot urine collected from 215 female undergraduates (age 18–22, 2016–2017) at a public university in Charleston, SC USA and a subset of participants completed a questionnaire detailing demographics and behaviors including personal care and cosmetic product use (e.g. in the past 6 or 24 hrs). Urine specific gravity was used to assess effect of urine dilution. Phthalate metabolite concentrations were compared to reference populations and the temporal trends of the same age-group in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were analyzed.ResultsTotal urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in individuals ranged three orders of magnitude (geometric mean 56.6 ng/mL, IQR 26.6–114 ng/mL). A third of urine samples had relatively high urine specific gravity levels indicating potential dehydration status. All geometric mean concentrations were similar to the U.S. female population in the most recent NHANES cycle (2015–2016) except for MEP and mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP). Relatively low MEP and MiBP may be explained by a time trend of declining MEP in the general U.S. population, the sociocultural character of this cohort, and the time of day of spot sampling in evening. NHANES data indicate a significant effect of sample timing on phthalate metabolite concentrations and decline in most, but not all, phthalate metabolites sampled in women aged 18–22 years over the decade (2005–2016).SignificanceThis study reports phthalate metabolites in college-aged women, an understudied group, emphasizes the benefit of survey information for interpreting biomonitoring data, and is a useful case study for communicating phthalate chemical exposure risks to college students.

Highlights

  • Phthalates are a group of phthalic acid diesters that are high-production volume chemicals used in a wide range of products, from personal care products, plastics (e.g. PVC), adhesives and sealants to pesticides

  • In analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) biomonitoring results over time, phthalate metabolite concentrations are reported as adjusted concentrations with weighting factors applied provided by the NHANES database for the urinalysis subpopulation to account for differences in demographics in comparison to the U.S civilian population in each cycle over time, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

  • Relatively high phthalate metabolite concentrations were originally hypothesized for this college-aged female cohort given previously-reported high personal care product use [25], levels measured in urine samples collected in winter 2016–2017 were generally similar to the U.S female population surveyed contemporaneously in 2015–2016 [22]

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Summary

Objective

To analyze phthalate exposure in a cross-sectional sample of female college students using urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations and compare to reference populations including college-aged women sampled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

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