Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium.
Environ Int. 2013 Sep;59:344-53. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2013.06.023. Epub 2013 Jul 24.
Human exposure to chemicals commonly encountered in our environment, like phthalates, is routinely assessed through urinary measurement of their metabolites. A particular attention is given to the specific population groups, such as obese, for which the dietary intake of environmental chemicals is higher. To evaluate the exposure to phthalates, nine phthalate metabolites (PMs) were analyzed in urine collected from obese individuals and a control population. Obese individuals lost weight through either bariatric surgery or a conservative weight loss program with dietary and lifestyle counseling. Urine samples were also collected from the obese individuals after 3, 6 and 12months of weight loss. Individual daily intakes of the corresponding phthalate diesters were estimated based on the urinary PM concentrations. A high variability was recorded for the levels of each PM in both obese and control urine samples showing the exposure to high levels of PMs in specific subgroups. The most important PM metabolite as percentage contribution to the total PM levels was mono-ethyl phthalate followed by the metabolites of di-butyl phthalate and di 2-ethyl-hexyl phthalate (DEHP). No differences in the PM levels and profiles between obese entering the program and controls were observed. Although paralleled by a significant decrease of their weight, an increase in the urinary PM levels after 3 to 6months loss was seen. Constant figures for the estimated phthalates daily intake were observed over the studied period, suggesting that besides food consumption, other human exposure sources to phthalates (e.g. air, dust) might be also important. The weight loss treatment method followed by obese individuals influenced the correlations between PM levels, suggesting a change of the intake sources with time. Except for few gender differences recorded between the urinary DEHP metabolites correlations, no other differences were observed for the urinary PM levels as a function of age, body mass index or waist circumference. Linear regression analysis showed almost no significance of the relationship between measured urinary PMs and serum free thyroxine, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) for all obese individuals participating to the study, while for the control samples, several PMs were significantly associated with the serum TSH levels.
人体接触环境中常见化学物质（如邻苯二甲酸酯）的情况通常通过尿液中代谢产物的测量来评估。特别关注肥胖等特定人群群体，因为他们从饮食中摄入的环境化学物质更多。为了评估邻苯二甲酸酯的暴露情况，对肥胖个体和对照组人群尿液中 9 种邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物（PMs）进行了分析。肥胖个体通过减重手术或饮食和生活方式咨询的保守减重计划来减肥。在减肥 3、6 和 12 个月后，也从肥胖个体中收集了尿液样本。根据尿液 PM 浓度，估算了相应邻苯二甲酸二酯的个体日摄入量。肥胖和对照尿液样本中每种 PM 的浓度都有很大的变异性，表明在特定亚组中暴露于高水平的 PM。作为总 PM 水平的百分比贡献，单乙基邻苯二甲酸酯是最重要的 PM 代谢物，其次是邻苯二甲酸二丁酯和邻苯二甲酸二（2-乙基己基）酯（DEHP）的代谢物。在进入计划的肥胖个体和对照组之间，PM 水平和分布没有差异。尽管体重显著下降，但在 3 至 6 个月的减肥后，尿液 PM 水平会增加。在研究期间，观察到估计的邻苯二甲酸酯日摄入量的恒定数值，这表明除了食物消耗外，其他邻苯二甲酸酯的人体暴露源（如空气、灰尘）也可能很重要。肥胖个体所采用的减肥治疗方法影响了 PM 水平之间的相关性，表明随着时间的推移，摄入源发生了变化。除了记录到的尿液 DEHP 代谢物相关性之间的少数性别差异外，根据年龄、体重指数或腰围，尿液 PM 水平没有观察到其他差异。线性回归分析显示，对于所有参与研究的肥胖个体，测量的尿液 PM 与血清游离甲状腺素、促甲状腺激素（TSH）之间几乎没有显著关系，而对于对照组样本，有几个 PM 与血清 TSH 水平显著相关。
