Zhang Yiyun, Zhang Lei, Chen Yan, Feng Hua, Zhou Wei, Wang Lianglu, Wu Di, Li Jingguang, Wu Yongning
School of Population Medicine and Public Health, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; NHC Key Lab of Food Safety Risk Assessment, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing, China; Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, Peking Union Medical College, Research Unit of Food Safety, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
NHC Key Lab of Food Safety Risk Assessment, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing, China.
Environ Int. 2025 Jul;201:109597. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109597. Epub 2025 Jun 7.
Phthalates are among the most ubiquitous environmental pollutants and endocrine disruptors. However, the effect of phthalates exposure on food allergies remains unclear.
This study examined the relationship between exposure to phthalates and a phthalate substitute and food sensitization in children.
A study was conducted including 198 children with self-reported food allergy and 202 healthy children. Specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) test and skin prick test were applied to evaluate the susceptibility to food sensitization. Urine samples were analyzed for 17 metabolites of phthalates and a phthalate substitute. Logistic regression and weighted quantile sum regression models were used to examine the correlations between exposure and food sensitization. Bayesian benchmark dose models were established to calculate benchmark dose values for these metabolites.
In single compound models, mono-2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl terephthalate (MEHHTP) was associated with increased sensitization to almond, crab, shrimp, and total foods, and mono-2-methyl-2-hydroxypropyl phthalate (MHiBP) was associated with positive skin prick tests for wheat, peanut, and blue mussel (all p < 0.05). Mixed exposure only increased susceptibility for total foods sensitization with higher levels of sIgE (Odds Ratio = 1.25, 95 % confidence intervals: 1.01-1.56, p = 0.04), and MEHHTP had the dominant contribution.
Phthalates exposure is linked to a higher risk of food sensitization in children in China. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings and the role of phthalate substitutes.
邻苯二甲酸盐是最普遍存在的环境污染物和内分泌干扰物之一。然而，邻苯二甲酸盐暴露对食物过敏的影响仍不清楚。
本研究调查了邻苯二甲酸盐及其替代物暴露与儿童食物致敏之间的关系。
对198名自述有食物过敏的儿童和202名健康儿童进行了一项研究。采用特异性免疫球蛋白E（sIgE）检测和皮肤点刺试验评估食物致敏易感性。分析尿液样本中的17种邻苯二甲酸盐及其替代物的代谢产物。采用逻辑回归和加权分位数和回归模型研究暴露与食物致敏之间的相关性。建立贝叶斯基准剂量模型来计算这些代谢产物的基准剂量值。
在单一化合物模型中，单-2-乙基-5-羟基己基对苯二甲酸酯（MEHHTP）与杏仁、蟹、虾及总体食物致敏增加相关，单-2-甲基-2-羟基丙基邻苯二甲酸酯（MHiBP）与小麦、花生和蓝贻贝皮肤点刺试验阳性相关（均p<0.05）。混合暴露仅增加了总体食物致敏的易感性，sIgE水平更高（比值比=1.25，95%置信区间：1.01-1.56，p=0.04），且MEHHTP起主要作用。
在中国，邻苯二甲酸盐暴露与儿童食物致敏风险较高有关。有必要进一步研究以证实这些发现以及邻苯二甲酸酯替代物的作用。
