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Reliability of triclosan measures in repeated urine samples from Norwegian pregnant women

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 24, pages 517–521 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Triclosan (TCS) is a synthetic antibacterial chemical that is used in personal care products and is measurable in urine. Urinary TCS has been associated with allergy in children in Norway and the United States. A reasonable degree of temporal reliability of TCS urinary concentrations has been reported among US children as well as for Puerto Rican pregnant women. We examined the reliability of TCS measures in urine among Norwegian pregnant women. TCS was measured in spot urine samples collected in gestational weeks 17, 23, and 29 from 45 women in The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) enrolled in 2007 and 2008. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rs) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) statistics were calculated. Fifty-six percent of the 45 women had a least one sample with a value above the method limit of detection (2.3 μg/l). The correlation coefficients were 0.61 for TCS concentrations at 17 and 23 weeks and 0.49 for concentrations at 17 and 29 weeks. For the three time points, the ICC was 0.49. The reliability of TCS concentrations in repeated urine samples from pregnant Norwegian women was reasonably good, suggesting a single urine sample can adequately represent TCS exposure during pregnancy.

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Acknowledgements

The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Research, NIH/NIEHS (contract no N01-ES-75558), NIH/NINDS (grant no. 1 UO1 NS 047537-01), and the Norwegian Research Council/FUGE (grant no. 151918/S10). This study was supported in part by the grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P30-ES010126, R01-ES021777, and K12-ES019852), the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The involvement of the CDC was determined not to constitute engagement in human subject research. Human subjects committees at NIEHS and at the University of North Carolina also approved this study protocol. We acknowledge X. Ye, X. Zhou, J. Kramer, and T. Jia (CDC) for technical assistance in measuring TCS. We are grateful to all the participating families in Norway who take part in this ongoing cohort study. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the CDC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS/NIH), Research Triangle Park, North Cardina, USA

    Randi J Bertelsen, Todd A Jusko, Jane A Hoppin, Stephanie J London & Matthew P Longnecker

  2. Department of food, water and cosmetics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

    Randi J Bertelsen

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Stephanie M Engel & Virginia T Guidry

  4. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA

    Todd A Jusko

  5. Division of Laboratory Sciences, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Antonia M Calafat

  6. Department of Genes and Environment, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

    Merete Eggesbø

  7. Department of Childhood, Development and Cultural diversity, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

    Heidi Aase

  8. Department of Genetics, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Pål Zeiner

  9. Environment and Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

    Ted Reichborn-Kjennerud & Gun P Knudsen

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  1. Randi J Bertelsen
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  2. Stephanie M Engel
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Correspondence to Randi J Bertelsen.

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Bertelsen, R., Engel, S., Jusko, T. et al. Reliability of triclosan measures in repeated urine samples from Norwegian pregnant women. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 24, 517–521 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2013.95

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