Wen Hui-Ju, Sie Lillian, Su Pen-Hua, Chuang Chia-Jui, Chen Hsiao-Yen, Sun Chien-Wen, Huang Li-Hua, Hsiung Chao Agnes, Julie Wang Shu-Li
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan.
Department of Pediatrics, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
J Epidemiol. 2017 Nov;27(11):516-523. doi: 10.1016/j.je.2016.10.009. Epub 2017 May 30.
Phthalate diesters are commonly used and have been well established as environmental endocrine disruptors. However, few studies have examined their effects on sex steroid hormones in children. We followed children over time to examine the association between pre- and post-natal phthalate exposure and sex steroid hormone levels at 2, 5, 8, and 11 years of age.
We recruited 430 pregnant women from central Taiwan from 2000 to 2001 and assessed their children at birth, 2, 5, 8, and 11 years of age. We studies children with at least one measurement for both phthalate and hormone levels during each any of the follow-up time point (n = 193). Estradiol, free testosterone, testosterone, and progesterone were measured from venous blood. Three monoesters of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), mono-benzyl phthalate, mono-n-butyl phthalate, mono-ethyl phthalate, and mono-methyl phthalate were measured in maternal urine collected during the 3rd trimester and child urine collected at each follow-up point. The sum of mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (∑MEHP) was calculated by summing the concentrations of the three DEHP monoesters. Generalized estimating equation regression analysis with repeated measures was used to estimate associations between phthalate metabolites and hormone levels.
After adjustment for potential confounders, maternal ∑MEHP level was associated with decreased levels of progesterone in girls (β = -0.309 p = 0.001). The child ∑MEHP concentration was associated with decreased levels of progesterone for girls (β = -0.194, p = 0.003) and with decreased levels of free testosterone for boys (β = -0.124, p = 0.004).
Early-life DEHP exposure may alter sex steroid hormones of children over time, which may pose potential reproductive health risks.
邻苯二甲酸二酯被广泛使用，并且已被确认为环境内分泌干扰物。然而，很少有研究考察其对儿童性类固醇激素的影响。我们对儿童进行长期跟踪，以研究产前和产后邻苯二甲酸暴露与儿童在2岁、5岁、8岁和11岁时性类固醇激素水平之间的关联。
我们在2000年至2001年从台湾中部招募了430名孕妇，并在其孩子出生时、2岁、5岁、8岁和11岁时对他们进行评估。我们研究了在任何一个随访时间点至少有一次邻苯二甲酸和激素水平测量值的儿童（n = 193）。从静脉血中测量雌二醇、游离睾酮、睾酮和孕酮。在孕晚期收集的孕妇尿液以及在每个随访点收集的儿童尿液中测量邻苯二甲酸二（2-乙基己基）酯（DEHP）的三种单酯、单苄基邻苯二甲酸酯、单正丁基邻苯二甲酸酯、单乙基邻苯二甲酸酯和单甲基邻苯二甲酸酯。通过将三种DEHP单酯的浓度相加来计算单-2-乙基己基邻苯二甲酸酯（∑MEHP）的总和。使用重复测量的广义估计方程回归分析来估计邻苯二甲酸代谢物与激素水平之间的关联。
在对潜在混杂因素进行调整后，孕妇的∑MEHP水平与女孩孕酮水平降低有关（β = -0.309，p = 0.001）。儿童的∑MEHP浓度与女孩孕酮水平降低有关（β = -0.194，p = 0.003），与男孩游离睾酮水平降低有关（β = -0.124，p = 0.004）。
生命早期DEHP暴露可能会随着时间的推移改变儿童的性类固醇激素，这可能会带来潜在的生殖健康风险。
