Abstract
In utero exposure to phthalates may adversely affect reproductive development in children due to the anti-androgenic properties of the pthalates. Accordingly, we aimed to determine the effects of in utero and environmental phthalate exposure on the reproductive development of eight-year-old children. We recruited 180 children in central Taiwan during November 2001 and followed them until August 2009 when all children became eight years old. Birth outcomes were collected. Bone age, hormone concentrations, and reproductive developmental stages were determined. Phthalate metabolite levels, including mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate [MEHP], mono-n-butyl phthalate [MnBP], and mono-benzyl phthalate [MBzP], were assessed. No significant gender differences were found in in utero phthalate exposure. Maternal urinary levels of phthalate metabolites did not correlate significantly with birth outcomes, physical characteristics, and reproductive hormones of the eight-year-old children. Regarding the urinary phthalate metabolite levels of the eight-year-old children, MEHP correlated significantly with serum progesterone levels. MEHP levels in girls correlated significantly with serum progesterone levels. MnBP correlated significantly with serum FSH in all children. In girls, MnBP correlated with serum FSH, and MBzP correlated with serum progesterone and FSH levels. Urinary phthalate metabolite levels did not correlate with female developmental stages or the development of female reproductive organs. Phthalate metabolites did not correlate with the physical characteristics and reproductive hormones in boys. Therefore, environmental exposure to phthalates, as determined by urinary phthalate metabolite levels of eight-year-old children, may affect reproductive hormone levels in children, indicating that further studies on the environmental health effects of phthalates are warranted.
Highlights
Phthalates are synthetic chemicals used primarily as plasticizers and chemical additives for various applications
We aimed to examine the association between in utero and environmental exposure to phthalate metabolites and the reproductive development of pre-pubertal children in Taiwan
Epidemiological studies have indicated that phthalates may affect reproductive outcomes in children; the health effects of specific phthalates in children, in particular di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and its metabolites, are unknown [6,14]
Summary
Phthalates are synthetic chemicals used primarily as plasticizers and chemical additives for various applications. Phthalates are released continuously from such products and are ubiquitous in the environment owing to their chemical properties (i.e., no chemical bonds formed between phthalates and plastics or additives). Human exposure to phthalates is widespread and common, since phthalates can be absorbed through the skin, inhaled, ingested, or directly administered [1,2]. Low-molecular-weight (LMW) phthalates are rapidly metabolized into their respective monoester and hydroxydiester metabolites, and high-molecular-weight (HMW) phthalates are metabolized into monoesters and hydroxy-, oxy-, or carboxydiester metabolites, which are excreted via urine [2]. Biomonitoring studies have demonstrated relatively high urinary levels of phthalate metabolites in the general population of Western countries [2,3,4,5]. Concentrations in children, who are more sensitive to exogenous insults, were found to be even higher [1,2,6]
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