Exposure to Phthalates in European Children, Adolescents and Adults since 2005 : A Harmonized Approach Based on Existing HBM Data in the HBM4EU Initiative
(2023) In Toxics 11(3). p.1-23- Abstract
Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers and are associated inter alia with adverse effects on reproductive functions. While more and more national programs in Europe have started monitoring internal exposure to phthalates and its substitute 1,2-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (DINCH), the comparability of results from such existing human biomonitoring (HBM) studies across Europe is challenging. They differ widely in time periods, study samples, degree of geographical coverage, design, analytical methodology, biomarker selection, and analytical quality assurance level. The HBM4EU initiative has gathered existing HBM data of 29 studies from participating countries, covering all European regions and Israel. The data were prepared and... (More)
Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers and are associated inter alia with adverse effects on reproductive functions. While more and more national programs in Europe have started monitoring internal exposure to phthalates and its substitute 1,2-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (DINCH), the comparability of results from such existing human biomonitoring (HBM) studies across Europe is challenging. They differ widely in time periods, study samples, degree of geographical coverage, design, analytical methodology, biomarker selection, and analytical quality assurance level. The HBM4EU initiative has gathered existing HBM data of 29 studies from participating countries, covering all European regions and Israel. The data were prepared and aggregated by a harmonized procedure with the aim to describe—as comparably as possible—the EU-wide general population’s internal exposure to phthalates from the years 2005 to 2019. Most data were available from Northern (up to 6 studies and up to 13 time points), Western (11; 19), and Eastern Europe (9; 12), e.g., allowing for the investigation of time patterns. While the bandwidth of exposure was generally similar, we still observed regional differences for Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP), and Di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP) with pronounced decreases over time in Northern and Western Europe, and to a lesser degree in Eastern Europe. Differences between age groups were visible for Di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), where children (3 to 5-year olds and 6 to 11-year olds) had lower urinary concentrations than adolescents (12 to 19-year-olds), who in turn had lower urinary concentrations than adults (20 to 39-year-olds). This study is a step towards making internal exposures to phthalates comparable across countries, although standardized data were not available, targeting European data sets harmonized with respect to data formatting and calculation of aggregated data (such as developed within HBM4EU), and highlights further suggestions for improved harmonization in future studies.
(Less)
- author
- publishing date
- 2023-03
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- exposure, HBM4EU, human biomonitoring, phthalates, pollutants
- in
- Toxics
- volume
- 11
- issue
- 3
- article number
- 241
- pages
- 1 - 23
- publisher
- MDPI AG
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85151149024
- ISSN
- 2305-6304
- DOI
- 10.3390/toxics11030241
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
- id
- 4ebd1caa-f6f3-479c-895f-9297ec21acd8
- date added to LUP
- 2025-02-21 21:51:30
- date last changed
- 2025-02-24 08:13:49
@article{4ebd1caa-f6f3-479c-895f-9297ec21acd8,
abstract = {{<p>Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers and are associated inter alia with adverse effects on reproductive functions. While more and more national programs in Europe have started monitoring internal exposure to phthalates and its substitute 1,2-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (DINCH), the comparability of results from such existing human biomonitoring (HBM) studies across Europe is challenging. They differ widely in time periods, study samples, degree of geographical coverage, design, analytical methodology, biomarker selection, and analytical quality assurance level. The HBM4EU initiative has gathered existing HBM data of 29 studies from participating countries, covering all European regions and Israel. The data were prepared and aggregated by a harmonized procedure with the aim to describe—as comparably as possible—the EU-wide general population’s internal exposure to phthalates from the years 2005 to 2019. Most data were available from Northern (up to 6 studies and up to 13 time points), Western (11; 19), and Eastern Europe (9; 12), e.g., allowing for the investigation of time patterns. While the bandwidth of exposure was generally similar, we still observed regional differences for Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP), and Di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP) with pronounced decreases over time in Northern and Western Europe, and to a lesser degree in Eastern Europe. Differences between age groups were visible for Di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), where children (3 to 5-year olds and 6 to 11-year olds) had lower urinary concentrations than adolescents (12 to 19-year-olds), who in turn had lower urinary concentrations than adults (20 to 39-year-olds). This study is a step towards making internal exposures to phthalates comparable across countries, although standardized data were not available, targeting European data sets harmonized with respect to data formatting and calculation of aggregated data (such as developed within HBM4EU), and highlights further suggestions for improved harmonization in future studies.</p>}},
author = {{Vogel, Nina and Lange, Rosa and Schmidt, Phillipp and Rodriguez Martin, Laura and Remy, Sylvie and Springer, Andrea and Puklová, Vladimíra and Černá, Milena and Rudnai, Péter and Középesy, Szilvia and Janasik, Beata and Ligocka, Danuta and Fábelová, Lucia and Kolena, Branislav and Petrovicova, Ida and Jajcaj, Michal and Eštóková, Milada and Esteban-Lopez, Marta and Castaño, Argelia and Tratnik, Janja Snoj and Stajnko, Anja and Knudsen, Lisbeth E. and Toppari, Jorma and Main, Katharina M. and Juul, Anders and Andersson, Anna Maria and Jørgensen, Niels and Frederiksen, Hanne and Thomsen, Cathrine and Sakhi, Amrit Kaur and Åkesson, Agneta and Hartmann, Christina and Dewolf, Marie Christine and Koppen, Gudrun and Biot, Pierre and Den Hond, Elly and Voorspoels, Stefan and Gilles, Liese and Govarts, Eva and Murawski, Aline and Gerofke, Antje and Weber, Till and Rüther, Maria and Gutleb, Arno C. and Guignard, Cedric and Berman, Tamar and Koch, Holger M. and Kolossa-Gehring, Marike}},
issn = {{2305-6304}},
keywords = {{exposure; HBM4EU; human biomonitoring; phthalates; pollutants}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{1--23}},
publisher = {{MDPI AG}},
series = {{Toxics}},
title = {{Exposure to Phthalates in European Children, Adolescents and Adults since 2005 : A Harmonized Approach Based on Existing HBM Data in the HBM4EU Initiative}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics11030241}},
doi = {{10.3390/toxics11030241}},
volume = {{11}},
year = {{2023}},
}