Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Effect of triclosan on the pathogenesis of allergic diseases among children

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 32, pages 60–68 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Few studies have assessed associations between allergic diseases and antibacterial agents in Taiwanese children.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the association of triclosan (TCS) exposure with allergic diseases among preschoolers, disease-specific IgE titers, and a child’s sex.

Methods

Pediatric data were obtained from the Childhood Environment and Allergic Diseases Study (CEAS; 2010) cohort, and their urine and blood samples were used to analyze TCS and IgE concentrations (age 3 group). Three years later, clinical data were obtained again from the age 3 group (age 6 group). Correlations of TCS levels at ages 3 and 6 years with IgE levels and allergic diseases were evaluated.

Results

The TCS levels were higher at age 3 than at age 6 (geometric mean, 1.05 ng/ml vs 0.37 ng/ml). TCS levels were positively correlated with serum IgE levels at ages 3 and 6 years. Asthma and atopic dermatitis were significantly associated with TCS (adjusted OR 1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.29; OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.05–1.41). Sex-stratified analysis revealed that TCS levels were positively correlated with IgE levels among boys in the age 6 group and significantly associated with asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis among boys.

Significance

TCS exposure is associated with IgE levels and a potentially high risk of pediatric atopic disorders.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wu WF, Wan KS, Wang SJ, Yang W, Liu WL. Prevalence, severity, and time trends of allergic conditions in 6- to-7-year-old schoolchildren in Taipei. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2011;21:556–62.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Wang IJ, Guo YL, Hwang KC, Hsieh WS, Chuang YL, Lin SJ. et al. Genetic and environmental predictors for pediatric atopic dermatitis. Acta Paediatr Taiwanica. 2006;47:238–42.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Wang IJ, Huang LM, Guo YL, Hsieh WS, Lin TJ, Chen PC. Haemophilus influenzae type b combination vaccines and atopic disorders: a prospective cohort study. J Formos Med Assoc. 2012;111:711–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Jackson-Browne MS, Henderson N, Patti M, Spanier A, Braun J. M. The impact of early-life exposure to antimicrobials on asthma and eczema risk in children. Curr. Environ. Health Rep. 2019;6:214–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Strachan DP. Family size, infection and atopy: the first decade of the “hygiene hypothesis”. Thorax. 2000;55:S2–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Mitsui-Iwama M, Yamamoto-Hanada K, Fukutomi Y, Hirota R, Muto G, Nakamura T, et al. Exposure to paraben and triclosan and allergic diseases in Tokyo: a pilot cross-sectional study. Asia Pac Allergy. 2019;9:e5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Hampton T. Research provides new insights on how hygiene affects asthma and allergies. JAMA 2011;305:1400–1.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. McMurry LM, Oethinger M, Levy SB. Triclosan targets lipid synthesis. Nature. 1998;394:531–2.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Dann AB, Hontela A. Triclosan: environmental exposure, toxicity and mechanisms of action. J Appl Toxicol. 2011;31:285–311.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. SCCS. Opinion on Triclosan antimicrobial resistance. http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_safety/docs/sccs_o_023. 2010.

  11. Pasch E, Voltmer L, Gemmell S, Walter J, Walton KLW. Effects of Triclosan on the normal intestinal microbiota and on susceptibility to experimental murine colitis. FASEB J. 2009;23:977.10.

  12. EFSA. European Food Safety Authority. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on food additives, flavourings, processing aids and materials in contact with food (AFC) related to 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) propane. EFSA J. 2006;428:1–75.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Frei R, Lauener RP, Crameri R, O’Mahony L. Microbiota and dietary interactions – an update to the hygiene hypothesis? Allergy. 2012;67:451–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Levy SB. Antibacterial household products: cause for concern. Emerg Infect Dis. 2001;7:512–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Weatherly LM, Gosse JA. Triclosan exposure, transformation, and human health effects. J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. 2017;20:447–69.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Taiwan Food drug administration. I heard that cosmetics containing triclosan (triclosan) are carcinogenic. Is it really that scary? Available at: https://www.fda.gov.tw/tc/newsContent.aspx?id=19821&chk=48f4baa8-327a-4e34-a968-9320f8ea8626 (accessed on 25 April 2016).

  17. Dann AB, Hontela A. Triclosan: environmental exposure, toxicity and mechanisms of action. J Appl Toxicol. 2011;31:285–311.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Wang C-F, Tian Y. Reproductive endocrine-disrupting effects of triclosan: population exposure, present evidence and potential mechanisms. Environ Pollut. 2015;206:195–201.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Geens T, Neels H, Covaci A. Distribution of bisphenol-A, triclosan and n-nonylphenol in human adipose tissue, liver and brain. Chemosphere. 2012;87:796–802.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Huang C-L, Abass OK, Yu C-P. Triclosan: a review on systematic risk assessment and control from the perspective of substance flow analysis. Sci Total Environ. 2016;566:771–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.05.002

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Bertelsen RJ, Longnecker MP, Løvik M, Calafat AM, Carlsen K-H, London SJ, et al. Triclosan exposure and allergic sensitization in Norwegian children. Allergy. 2013;68:84–91.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Savage JH, Matsui EC, Wood RA, Keet CA. Urinary levels of triclosan and parabens are associated with aeroallergen and food sensitization. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012;130:453–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Bertelsen RJ, Longnecker MP, Løvik M, Calafat AM, Carlsen KH, London SJ, et al. Triclosan exposure and allergic sensitization in Norwegian children. Allergy. 2013;68:84–91.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Spanier AJ, Fausnight T, Camacho TF, Braun JM. The associations of triclosan and paraben exposure with allergen sensitization and wheeze in children. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2014;35:475–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Ye X, Kuklenyik Z, Needham LL, Calafat AM. Automated on-line column-switching HPLC-MS/MS method with peak focusing for the determination of nine environmental phenols in urine. Anal Chem. 2005;77:5407–13.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Cayman Chemical Company. Creatinine (urinary). https://www.caymanchem.com/pdfs/500701.pdf. 2012.

  27. Hanifin JM, Rajka G. Disgnostic features of atopic dermatitis. Acta Derm Venereol Suppl. 1980;92:44–7.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Brozek JL, Bousquet J, Baena-Cagnani CE, Bonini S, Canonica GW, Casale TB, et al. Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines: 2010 revision. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010;126:466–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Soto-Martinez ME, Avila L, Soto-Quiros ME. New criteria for the diagnosis and management of asthma in children under 5 years old: GINA Guidelines. Pediatr. 2009;71:91–4.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Iyer AP, Xue J, Honda M, Robinson M, Kumosani TA, Abulnaja K, et al. Urinary levels of triclosan and triclocarban in several Asian countries, Greece and the USA: association with oxidative stress. Environ Res Vol. 2018;160:91–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Calafat AM, Ye X, Wong LY, Reidy JA, Needham LL. Urinary concentrations of triclosan in the U.S. population: 2003-4. Environ Health Perspect. 2008;116:303–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Mulla SI, Wang H, Sun Q, Hu A, Yu C-P. Characterization of triclosan metabolism in Sphingomonas sp. strain YL-JM2C. Sci Rep. 2016;6:21965.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Jackson-Browne MedinaS, Henderson Noelle, Patti Marisa, Spanier Adam, Braun JosephM. The impact of early-life exposure to antimicrobials on asthma and eczema risk in children. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2019;6:214–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Spanier AJ, Fausnight T, Camacho TF, Braun JM. The associations of triclosan and paraben exposure with allergen sensitization and wheeze in children. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2014;35:475–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Quirós-Alcalá L, Hansel NN, Mc Cormack MC, Matsui EC. Paraben exposures and asthma-related outcomes among children from the US general population. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2019;143:948.e4–56.e4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Aung MT, Ferguson KK, Cantonwine DE, Bakulski KM, Mukherjee B, Loch-Caruso R, et al. Corrigendum to “Associations between maternal plasma measurements of inflammatory markers and urinary levels of phenols and parabens during pregnancy: a repeated measures study”. [Sci. Total Environ. 650 (Pt 1) (2019) 1131–1140]. Sci Total Environ. 2019;658:1640.

  37. Ashley-Martin J, Dodds L, Arbuckle TE, Marshall J. Prenatal triclosan exposure and cord blood immune system biomarkers. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2016;219:454–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2016.04.010

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Anderson SE, Franko J, Kashon ML, Anderson KL, Hubbs AF, Lukomska E, et al. Exposure to triclosan augments the allergic response to ovalbumin in a mouse model of asthma. Toxicol Sci. 2013;132:96–106.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Ahn KC, Zhao B, Chen J, Cherednichenko G, Sanmarti E, Denison MS, et al. In vitro biologic activities of the antimicrobials triclocarban, its analogs, and triclosan in bioassay screens: receptor-based bioassay screens. Environ Health Perspect. 2008;116:1203–10.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Paul KB, Hedge JM, DeVito MJ, Crofton KM. Short-term exposure to triclosan decreases thyroxine in vivo via upregulation of hepatic catabolism in young Long-Evans rats. Toxicol Sci. 2010;113:367–79.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Stoker TE, Gibson EK, Zorrilla LM. Triclosan exposure modulates estrogen-dependent responses in the female Wistar rat. Toxicol Sci. 2010;117:45–53.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Dann AB, Hontelam A. Triclosan: environmental exposure, toxicity and mechanisms of action. J Appl Toxicol 2011;31:285–311.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Laffont S, Blanquart E, Guéry J-C. Sex differences in asthma: a key role of androgen-signaling in group 2 innate lymphoid cells. Front Immunol. 2017;8:1069.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Yung JA, Fuseini H, Newcomb DC. Hormones, sex, and asthma. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2018;120:488–94.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Wijga A, Tabak C, Postma DS, Kerkhof M, Wieringa MH, Hoekstra MO, et al. Sex differences in asthma during the first 8 years of life: the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) birth cohort study. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011;127:275–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Almqvist C, Worm M, Leynaert B, Working group of GALEN WP 2.5 Gender. Impact of gender on asthma in childhood and adolescence: a GA2LEN review. Allergy. 2008;63:47–57.

  47. Bertelsen RJ, Longnecker MP, Løvik M, Calafat AM, Carlsen KH, London SJ, et al. Triclosan exposure and allergic sensitization in Norwegian children. Allergy. 2013;68:84–91.

  48. Hong S, Kwon HJ, Choi WJ, Lim WR, Kim J, Kim K. Association between exposure to antimicrobial household products and allergic symptoms. Environ Health Toxicol. 2014;29:e2014017. https://doi.org/10.5620/eht.e2014017.

  49. Hitota R, Ohya Y, Yamamoto-Hanada K, Fukutomi Y. Triclosan-induced alteration of gut microbiome and aggravation of asthmatic airway response in aeroallergen-sensitized mice. Allergy. 2018;74:996–9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328494239.

  50. U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. Triclosan [CAS 3380-34-5] supporting information for toxicological evaluation by the National Toxicology Program. https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/chem_background/exsumpdf/triclosan_508.pdf (2008).

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are very thankful to the Editors and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments to improve the quality of this article. The authors also thank the CEAS study group (Mr. Han-Hsing Tsou for urine analysis and Professor Meilien Chen, our colleague, for data collection).This manuscript was edited by Wallace Academic Editing.

Funding

This study was supported by grants from theMinistry of Science and Technology (MOST 106-2314-B-192 -001 -MY3) and Taipei Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Min-Hua Lin, She-Yu Chiu

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, China Medical University, No.100, Sec.1, Jingmao Road, Beitun Dist, Taichung, 4046040, Taiwan

    Min-Hua Lin

  2. Department of Dietetics, Yunlin Christian Hospital, No.375, Shichang S Road, Xiluo Township, Yunlin, 648102, Taiwan

    Min-Hua Lin

  3. Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, No.35, Keyan Road, Zhunan Township, Miaoli, 35053, Taiwan

    She-Yu Chiu

  4. College of Public Health, China Medical University, No.100, Sec.1, Jingmao Road, Beitun Dist, Taichung, 406040, Taiwan

    Wen-Chao Ho & I-Jen Wang

  5. Department of Nursing & Graduate Institute of Nursing, Asia University, No.500, Lioufeng Road, Wufeng, Taichung, 41354, Taiwan

    Wen-Chao Ho

  6. School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, No.155, Sec.2, Linong Street, Taipei, 11221, Taiwan

    Kai-Hsien Chi, Tsung-Yun Liu & I-Jen Wang

  7. Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, New Taipei City, 24213, Taiwan

    I-Jen Wang

  8. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, 350401, Taiwan

    I-Jen Wang

  9. National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    I-Jen Wang

Authors
  1. Min-Hua Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. She-Yu Chiu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wen-Chao Ho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kai-Hsien Chi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tsung-Yun Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. I-Jen Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: M.-H.L., S.-Y.C.; methodology: I.-J.W., W.-C.H.; formal analysis: I.-J.W., T.-Y.L., K.-H.C.; data curation: I.-J.W., M.-H.L., K.-H.C. T.-Y.L.; writing—original draft preparation: M.-H.L., S.-Y.C., I.-J.W.; writing—review and editing: I.-J.W., M.-H.L., S.-Y.C.; supervision: I.-J.W., W.-C.H.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to I-Jen Wang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The Institutional Review Board of Taipei Hospital Protocol Number: IRB serial number: TH-IRB-0016-0019.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lin, MH., Chiu, SY., Ho, WC. et al. Effect of triclosan on the pathogenesis of allergic diseases among children. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 32, 60–68 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00304-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00304-w

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links