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Indoor exposure to phthalates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to Canadian children: the Kingston allergy birth cohort

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 32, pages 69–81 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Canadian children are widely exposed to phthalates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from indoor sources. Both sets of compounds have been implicated in allergic symptoms in children.

Objective

We characterize concentrations of eight phthalates and 12 PAHs in floor dust from the bedrooms of 79 children enrolled in the Kingston Allergy Birth Cohort (KABC).

Method

Floor dust was collected from the bedrooms of 79 children who underwent skin prick testing for common allergens after their first birthday. Data were collected on activities, household, and building characteristics via questionnaire.

Results

Diisononyl phthalate (DiNP) and phenanthrene were the dominant phthalate and PAH with median concentrations of 561 µg/g and 341 ng/g, respectively. Benzyl butyl phthalate (BzBP) and chrysene had the highest variations among all tested homes, ranging from 1–95% to 1–99%, respectively.

Significance

Some phthalates were significantly associated with product and material use such as diethyl phthalate (DEP) with fragranced products and DiNP and DiDP with vinyl materials. Some PAHs were significantly associated with household characteristics, such as benzo[a]pyrene with smoking, and phenanthrene and fluoranthene with the presence of an attached garage. Socioeconomic status (SES) had positive and negative relationships with some concentrations and some explanatory factors. No significant increases in risk of atopy (positive skin prick test) was found as a function of phthalate or PAH dust concentrations.

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Fig. 1: Concentrations of phthalates (A) in µg/g and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (B) in ng/g in settled dust samples collected from children’s bedrooms (n = 71) in homes selected from Kingston Allergy Birth Cohort.
Fig. 2: Relative abundance of phthalates (A) and dominant PAHs (B) measured in settled dust collected from children’s bedrooms (n = 79) in study homes, ranked by the relative abundance of the dominate phthalate and PAH.
Fig. 3: Exposome globes demonstrating the associations between levels of phthalates (A) on the top, PAHs (B) on the bottom and household and building characteristics.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the families who were involved in this study, and the physicians and midwives, and nurses at Kingston Health Sciences Center – Kingston General Hospital Site. The authors acknowledge the help from the Diamond Environmental Research Group and Building Engineering Research Group at University of Toronto, and from Queen’s University.

Funding

This research was funded by a CIHR Catalyst grant (201304CEN), the Allergy, Genes, and Environment Network (AllerGen NCE, 12ASI3), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC, RGPIN-2014-06698, RGPAS 429679-12 and RGPIN-2017-06654), and a University of Toronto Fellowship to YW.

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Author notes

  1. Michelle L. North

    Present address: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada, Dorval, QC, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Yuchao Wan, Jeffrey A. Siegel & Miriam L. Diamond

  2. Department of Biomedical and Molecular Science, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Michelle L. North & Anne K. Ellis

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Michelle L. North & Miriam L. Diamond

  4. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Garthika Navaranjan, Jeffrey A. Siegel & Miriam L. Diamond

  5. Department of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Anne K. Ellis

  6. Allergy Research Unit, Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Anne K. Ellis

  7. Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jeffrey A. Siegel

  8. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Miriam L. Diamond

  9. School of Environment, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Miriam L. Diamond

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Correspondence to Miriam L. Diamond.

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AKE declares the following disclosures not related to the current publication: AKE has participated in advisory boards for ALK Abello, AstraZeneca, Aralez, Bausch Health, Circassia Ltd, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Mylan, Novartis, Pediapharm and Pfizer, has been a speaker for ALK, Aralez, AstraZeneca, Boerhinger-Ingelheim, CACME, Meda, Mylan, Merck, Novartis, Pediapharm, Pfizer, The ACADEMY, and Takeda. Her institution has received research grants from Bayer LLC, Circassia Ltd, Green Cross Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline, Sun Pharma, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron and Sanofi. She has also served as an independent consultant to Allergy Therapeutics, Bayer LLC, Ora Inc. and Regeneron in the past. MLN is currently an employee of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada, her employment having started subsequent to the completion of this work.

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Wan, Y., North, M.L., Navaranjan, G. et al. Indoor exposure to phthalates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to Canadian children: the Kingston allergy birth cohort. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 32, 69–81 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00310-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00310-y

Keywords

  • Floor dust
  • phthalates
  • PAH
  • socioeconomic status
  • exposome globe
  • allergic response

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