Urinary triclosan concentrations are inversely associated with body mass index and waist circumference in the US general population: Experience in NHANES 2003-2010.

BACKGROUND

Humans are extensively exposed to triclosan, an antibacterial and antifungal agent. Triclosan's effects on human health, however, have not been carefully investigated.

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether triclosan exposure is associated with obesity traits.

METHODS

This study included 2898 children (6-19 years old) and 5066 adults (20 years or older) who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 2003-2010 and had a detectable level of urinary triclosan. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine the association between urinary triclosan and both body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.

RESULTS

Each standard deviation increase in urinary triclosan was associated with a 0.34 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.05, 0.64) kg/m² lower level of BMI (P=0.02) and 0.92 (95% CI: 0.09, 1.74)cm smaller waist circumference (P=0.03) in boys, and a 0.62 (95% CI: 0.31, 0.94) kg/m² lower level of BMI (P=0.0002) and 1.32 (95% CI: 0.54, 2.09) cm smaller waist circumference in girls (P=0.001); a 0.42 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.77) kg/m² lower level of BMI (P=0.02) and 1.35 (95% CI: 0.48, 2.22) cm smaller waist circumference (P=0.003) in men, and a 0.71 (95% CI: 0.34, 1.07) kg/m² lower level of BMI (P=0.0002) and 1.68 (95% CI: 0.86, 2.50) cm smaller waist circumference (P=0.0001) in women. In both children and adults, there was a consistent trend for lower levels of BMI and smaller waist circumference with increasing levels of urinary triclosan, from the lowest to the highest quartile of urinary triclosan (P ≤ 0.001 in all cases).

CONCLUSION

Triclosan exposure is inversely associated with BMI and waist circumference. The biological mechanisms linking triclosan exposure to obesity await further investigation.