Urinary concentrations of phthalate/DINCH metabolites and body mass index among European children and adolescents in the HBM4EU Aligned Studies : A cross-sectional multi-country study
(2024) In Environment International 190. p.1-13- Abstract
Background: Phthalates are ubiquitous in the environment. Despite short half-lives, chronic exposure can lead to endocrine disruption. The safety of phthalate substitute DINCH is unclear. Objective: To evaluate associations between urinary concentrations of phthalate/DINCH metabolites and body mass index (BMI) z-score among children and adolescents. Method: We used Human Biomonitoring for Europe Aligned Studies data from 2876 children (12 studies, 6–12 years, 2014–2021) and 2499 adolescents (10 studies, 12–18 years, 2014–2021) with up to 14 phthalate/DINCH urinary metabolites. We used multilevel linear regression to assess associations between phthalate/DINCH concentrations and BMI z-scores, testing effect modification by sex. In a... (More)
Background: Phthalates are ubiquitous in the environment. Despite short half-lives, chronic exposure can lead to endocrine disruption. The safety of phthalate substitute DINCH is unclear. Objective: To evaluate associations between urinary concentrations of phthalate/DINCH metabolites and body mass index (BMI) z-score among children and adolescents. Method: We used Human Biomonitoring for Europe Aligned Studies data from 2876 children (12 studies, 6–12 years, 2014–2021) and 2499 adolescents (10 studies, 12–18 years, 2014–2021) with up to 14 phthalate/DINCH urinary metabolites. We used multilevel linear regression to assess associations between phthalate/DINCH concentrations and BMI z-scores, testing effect modification by sex. In a subset, Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) and quantile-based g-computation assessed important predictors and mixture effects. Results: In children, we found few associations in single pollutant models and no interactions by sex (p-interaction > 0.1). BKMR detected no relevant exposures (posterior inclusion probabilities, PIPs < 0.25), nor joint mixture effect. In adolescent single pollutant analysis, mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP) concentrations were associated with higher BMI z-score in males (β = 0.08, 95 % CI: 0.001,0.15, per interquartile range increase in ln-transformed concentrations, p-interaction = 0.06). Conversely, mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP) was associated with a lower BMI z-score in both sexes (β = -0.13, 95 % CI: −0.19, −0.07, p-interaction = 0.74), as was sum of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (∑DEHP) metabolites in females only (β = -0.08, 95 % CI: −0.14, −0.02, p-interaction = 0.01). In BKMR, higher BMI z-scores were predicted by MEP (PIP=0.90) and MBzP (PIP=0.84) in males. Lower BMI z-scores were predicted by MiBP (PIP=0.999), OH-MIDP (PIP=0.88) and OH-MINCH (PIP=0.72) in both sexes, less robustly by DEHP (PIP=0.61) in females. In quantile g-computation, the overall mixture effect was null for males, and trended negative for females (β = -0.11, 95 % CI: −0.25, 0.03, per joint exposure quantile). Conclusion: In this large Europe-wide study, we found age/sex-specific differences between phthalate metabolites and BMI z-score, stronger in adolescents. Longitudinal studies with repeated phthalate measurements are needed.
(Less)
- author
- publishing date
- 2024-08
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- in
- Environment International
- volume
- 190
- article number
- 108931
- pages
- 1 - 13
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:39142134
- scopus:85201115432
- ISSN
- 0160-4120
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108931
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors
- id
- cd8c75fb-7155-46d6-930d-789ee30d7230
- date added to LUP
- 2025-02-21 21:56:03
- date last changed
- 2025-07-12 09:38:33
@article{cd8c75fb-7155-46d6-930d-789ee30d7230,
abstract = {{<p>Background: Phthalates are ubiquitous in the environment. Despite short half-lives, chronic exposure can lead to endocrine disruption. The safety of phthalate substitute DINCH is unclear. Objective: To evaluate associations between urinary concentrations of phthalate/DINCH metabolites and body mass index (BMI) z-score among children and adolescents. Method: We used Human Biomonitoring for Europe Aligned Studies data from 2876 children (12 studies, 6–12 years, 2014–2021) and 2499 adolescents (10 studies, 12–18 years, 2014–2021) with up to 14 phthalate/DINCH urinary metabolites. We used multilevel linear regression to assess associations between phthalate/DINCH concentrations and BMI z-scores, testing effect modification by sex. In a subset, Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) and quantile-based g-computation assessed important predictors and mixture effects. Results: In children, we found few associations in single pollutant models and no interactions by sex (p-interaction > 0.1). BKMR detected no relevant exposures (posterior inclusion probabilities, PIPs < 0.25), nor joint mixture effect. In adolescent single pollutant analysis, mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP) concentrations were associated with higher BMI z-score in males (β = 0.08, 95 % CI: 0.001,0.15, per interquartile range increase in ln-transformed concentrations, p-interaction = 0.06). Conversely, mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP) was associated with a lower BMI z-score in both sexes (β = -0.13, 95 % CI: −0.19, −0.07, p-interaction = 0.74), as was sum of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (∑DEHP) metabolites in females only (β = -0.08, 95 % CI: −0.14, −0.02, p-interaction = 0.01). In BKMR, higher BMI z-scores were predicted by MEP (PIP=0.90) and MBzP (PIP=0.84) in males. Lower BMI z-scores were predicted by MiBP (PIP=0.999), OH-MIDP (PIP=0.88) and OH-MINCH (PIP=0.72) in both sexes, less robustly by DEHP (PIP=0.61) in females. In quantile g-computation, the overall mixture effect was null for males, and trended negative for females (β = -0.11, 95 % CI: −0.25, 0.03, per joint exposure quantile). Conclusion: In this large Europe-wide study, we found age/sex-specific differences between phthalate metabolites and BMI z-score, stronger in adolescents. Longitudinal studies with repeated phthalate measurements are needed.</p>}},
author = {{Desalegn, Anteneh and Schillemans, Tessa and Papadopoulou, Eleni and Sakhi, Amrit K. and Haug, Line S. and Caspersen, Ida Henriette and Rodriguez-Carrillo, Andrea and Remy, Sylvie and Schoeters, Greet and Covaci, Adrian and Laeremans, Michelle and Fernández, Mariana F. and Pedraza-Diaz, Susana and Jensen, Tina Kold and Frederiksen, Hanne and Åkesson, Agneta and Cox, Bianca and D’Cruz, Shereen Cynthia and Rambaud, Loïc and Riou, Margaux and Kolossa-Gehring, Marike and Gerofke, Antje and Murawski, Aline and Vogel, Nina and Gabriel, Catherine and Karakitsios, Spyros and Papaioannou, Nafsika and Sarigiannis, Dimosthenis and Barbone, Fabio and Rosolen, Valentina and Lignell, Sanna and Lindroos, Anna Karin and Tratnik, Janja Snoj and Stajnko, Anja and Kosjek, Tina and Tkalec, Žiga and Fabelova, Lucia and Murinova, Lubica Palkovicova and Kolena, Branislav and Wimmerova, Sona and Szigeti, Tamás and Középesy, Szilvia and van den Brand, Annick and Zock, Jan Paul and Janasik, Beata and Wasowicz, Wojciech and De Decker, Annelies and De Henauw, Stefaan and Govarts, Eva and Iszatt, Nina}},
issn = {{0160-4120}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{1--13}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Environment International}},
title = {{Urinary concentrations of phthalate/DINCH metabolites and body mass index among European children and adolescents in the HBM4EU Aligned Studies : A cross-sectional multi-country study}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2024.108931}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.envint.2024.108931}},
volume = {{190}},
year = {{2024}},
}