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Temporal trends of phthalate exposures during 2007–2010 in Swedish pregnant women

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 28, pages 437–447 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

The general population is exposed to phthalates, a group of chemicals with strong evidence for endocrine disrupting properties, commonly used in a large number of consumer products. Based on published research and evidence compiled by environmental agencies, certain phthalate applications and products have become restricted, leading to an increasing number of “new generation compounds” coming onto the market during recent years replacing older phthalates. Some examples of such newer compounds are di-iso-nonyl phthalate (DiNP), di-iso-decyl phthalate (DiDP), and most recently di-isononyl-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DiNCH).

Objectives

In order to evaluate temporal trends in phthalate exposure, first trimester urinary biomarkers of phthalates were measured in the Swedish SELMA study over a period of 2.5 years (2007–2010).

Methods

We collected first morning void urine samples around week 10 of pregnancy from 1651 pregnant women. Spot samples were analyzed for 13 phthalate metabolites and one phthalate replacement and least square geometric mean (LSGM) levels of the metabolites were compared between the sampling years when adjusted for potential confounders.

Results

All 14 metabolites were detectable in more than 99% of the SELMA subjects. The levels were generally comparable to other studies, but the SELMA subjects showed slightly higher exposure to butyl-benzyl phthalate (BBzP) and di-butyl phthalate (DBP). Di-ethyl-hexyl phthalate (DEHP) metabolites levels decreased while DiNP, DiDP/di-2-propylheptyl phthalate (DPHP), and DiNCH metabolites levels increased during the sampling period.

Conclusions

Urinary metabolite levels of the older phthalates and more recently introduced phthalate replacement compound changed during the short sampling period in this Swedish pregnancy cohort. Our results indicate that replacement of phthalates can make an impact on human exposure to these chemicals. During this particularly vulnerable stage of life, phthalate exposures are of particular concern as the impacts, though not immediately noticeable, may increase the risk for health effects later in life.

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Acknowledgements

The study was funded by grants from the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas), Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association’s Research Foundation, the Swedish Foundation for Health Care Sciences and Allergy Research and the County Council of Värmland. We also thank all the participating families.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden

    Huan Shu, Eewa Nånberg, Malin Knutz & Carl-Gustaf Bornehag

  2. Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Bo AG Jönsson & Christian H Lindh

  3. Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

    Chris Gennings

  4. Department of Dermatology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Åke Svensson

  5. Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

    Tim K. Takaro

  6. Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

    Carl-Gustaf Bornehag

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  1. Huan Shu
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Shu, H., Jönsson, B.A., Gennings, C. et al. Temporal trends of phthalate exposures during 2007–2010 in Swedish pregnant women. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 28, 437–447 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-018-0020-6

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