Dziobak Miranda K, Wells Randall S, Pisarski Emily C, Wirth Ed F, Hart Leslie B
Environmental and Sustainability Studies Graduate Program, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424, USA.
Environmental Health Sciences Graduate Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Mar 24;12(7):824. doi: 10.3390/ani12070824.
Phthalates are chemical esters used to enhance desirable properties of plastics, personal care, and cleaning products. Phthalates have shown ubiquitous environmental contamination due to their abundant use and propensity to leach from products to which they are added. Following exposure, phthalates are rapidly metabolized and excreted through urine. Common bottlenose dolphins () sampled from Sarasota Bay, Florida, have demonstrated prevalent di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposure indicated by detectable urinary mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) concentrations. Widespread exposure is concerning due to evidence of endocrine disruption from human and laboratory studies. To better understand how phthalate exposure may impact dolphin health, correlations between relevant hormone levels and detectable urinary MEHP concentrations were examined. Hormone concentrations measured via blood serum samples included triiodothyronine (T3), total thyroxine (T4), and free thyroxine (FT4). Urinary MEHP concentrations were detected in 56% of sampled individuals ( = 50; mean = 8.13 ng/mL; s.d. = 15.99 ng/mL). Adult female and male FT4 was significantly correlated with urinary MEHP concentrations (adult female Kendall's tau = 0.36, = 0.04; adult male Kendall's tau = 0.42, = 0.02). Evidence from this study suggests DEHP exposure may be impacting thyroid hormone homeostasis. Cumulative effects of other stressors and resultant endocrine impacts are unknown. Further research is warranted to understand potential health implications associated with this relationship.
邻苯二甲酸盐是一类化学酯，用于增强塑料、个人护理产品和清洁产品的理想性能。由于其广泛使用以及易于从添加它们的产品中渗出，邻苯二甲酸盐已造成普遍的环境污染。接触后，邻苯二甲酸盐会迅速代谢并通过尿液排出。从佛罗里达州萨拉索塔湾采集的普通宽吻海豚样本显示，尿液中可检测到的单（2-乙基己基）邻苯二甲酸酯（MEHP）浓度表明普遍存在邻苯二甲酸二（2-乙基己基）酯（DEHP）暴露。鉴于人类和实验室研究中有内分泌干扰的证据，广泛暴露令人担忧。为了更好地了解邻苯二甲酸盐暴露如何影响海豚健康，研究了相关激素水平与尿液中可检测到的MEHP浓度之间的相关性。通过血清样本测量的激素浓度包括三碘甲状腺原氨酸（T3）、总甲状腺素（T4）和游离甲状腺素（FT4）。56%的采样个体（n = 50；平均值 = 8.13 ng/mL；标准差 = 15.99 ng/mL）检测到尿液中MEHP浓度。成年雌性和雄性的FT4与尿液中MEHP浓度显著相关（成年雌性肯德尔tau系数 = 0.36，p = 0.04；成年雄性肯德尔tau系数 = 0.42，p = 0.02）。这项研究的证据表明DEHP暴露可能正在影响甲状腺激素稳态。其他应激源的累积影响以及由此产生的内分泌影响尚不清楚。有必要进行进一步研究以了解这种关系可能对健康产生的潜在影响。
