Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan; Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2021 May;234:113724. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2021.113724. Epub 2021 Mar 21.
The widespread commercial production and use of phthalates as plasticizers in consumer products have led to significant human exposure. Some phthalates are known to disrupt the endocrine system and result in adverse health outcomes. As such, they have been regulated in materials used for children's items and food packages. In this study, we examined the secular trend of urinary phthalate metabolites in children and the association between metabolites and building characteristics. In total, 400 first-morning spot urine samples of 7 years old children collected from 2012 to 2017 from an ongoing birth cohort study were examined. Parents provided information on demographics and building questionnaires. We analyzed 10 urinary phthalate metabolites from five phthalate diesters using ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS): MiBP, MnBP, MBzP, MEHP, MEOHP, MEHHP, MECPP, MiNP, OH-MiNP, and cx-MiNP. A multivariable regression model with creatinine-corrected metabolite levels was applied to assess secular trends during 2012-2017. The association between metabolite levels and building characteristics was investigated using a mutual-adjusted linear regression. The metabolites MnBP, MEHP, MEOHP, MEHHP, MECPP, and OH-MiNP were detected in all samples. The highest median concentration was for MECPP 37.4 ng/mL, followed by MnBP and MEHHP at concentrations of 36.8 and 25.8 ng/mL, respectively. Overall, DBP, BBzP, and DINP metabolite concentrations in this study were comparable to or lower than those in previous studies from Japan and other countries in a similar study period. Higher concentrations of DEHP metabolites were observed in this study than in children from the USA and Germany, as per previous reports. Despite updated phthalate regulations and reports of production volume change in Japan, all the measured metabolites showed a stable trend between 2012 and 2017. Higher phthalate metabolite levels were observed among children from households with low annual income, those who lived in old buildings, and those with window opening habits of ≥1 h than ≤1 h. In contrast, children in houses that vacuumed 4 or more days/week showed a lower level of MnBP than those in houses that vacuumed ≤3 days/week. This study demonstrates that the internal exposure level of phthalates in Japanese children was stable from 2012 to 2017. Our findings suggest that phthalate exposure in children is consistent. Thus, improvements in the indoor environment, such as frequent vacuuming, may reduce exposure. Biomonitoring of phthalates is critical for elucidating their possible health effects and developing mitigation strategies.
邻苯二甲酸酯作为消费产品中的增塑剂被广泛商业化生产和使用，导致人类大量接触。一些邻苯二甲酸酯已知会破坏内分泌系统并导致不良健康后果。因此，它们已在儿童用品和食品包装材料中受到监管。在这项研究中，我们研究了儿童尿液中邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物的长期趋势，以及代谢物与建筑物特征之间的关系。总共检查了来自一个正在进行的出生队列研究的 2012 年至 2017 年期间 7 岁儿童的 400 个首次晨尿样本。父母提供了人口统计学和建筑物问卷调查的信息。我们使用超高效液相色谱串联质谱法（UPLC-MS/MS）分析了 10 种来自五种邻苯二甲酸二酯的尿液邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物：MiBP、MnBP、MBzP、MEHP、MEOHP、MEHHP、MECPP、MiNP、OH-MiNP 和 cx-MiNP。使用校正肌酐的代谢物水平的多变量回归模型评估了 2012-2017 年期间的长期趋势。使用相互调整的线性回归研究了代谢物水平与建筑物特征之间的关系。所有样本均检测到 MnBP、MEHP、MEOHP、MEHHP、MECPP 和 OH-MiNP 代谢物。最高的中位数浓度是 MECPP 37.4ng/mL，其次是 MnBP 和 MEHHP，浓度分别为 36.8 和 25.8ng/mL。总体而言，与来自日本和其他类似研究期间的其他国家的先前研究相比，本研究中 DBP、BBzP 和 DINP 代谢物浓度与之相当或更低。与来自美国和德国的儿童相比，本研究中 DEHP 代谢物的浓度更高，这与之前的报告一致。尽管日本的邻苯二甲酸酯法规有所更新，且报告称生产数量发生了变化，但在 2012 年至 2017 年期间，所有测量的代谢物均显示出稳定的趋势。来自年收入较低家庭、居住在旧建筑中的家庭以及开窗习惯为≥1 小时的家庭的儿童尿液中的邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物水平较高，而≤1 小时的家庭则较低。相比之下，每周吸尘 4 天或以上的家庭的儿童尿液中 MnBP 水平低于每周吸尘≤3 天的家庭。本研究表明，2012 年至 2017 年间，日本儿童体内邻苯二甲酸酯的内暴露水平保持稳定。我们的研究结果表明，儿童的邻苯二甲酸酯暴露是一致的。因此，改善室内环境，如经常吸尘，可能会减少暴露。对邻苯二甲酸酯进行生物监测对于阐明其可能的健康影响和制定缓解策略至关重要。
