Recent Fast Food Consumption and Bisphenol A and Phthalates Exposures among the U.S. Population in NHANES, 2003-2010

Phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) are widely used industrial chemicals that may adversely impact human health. Human exposure is ubiquitous and can occur through diet, including consumption of processed or packaged food.

To examine associations between recent fast food intake and BPA and urinary metabolites of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (ΣDEHPm) and diisononyl phthalate (DiNPm) among the U.S.

We combined data on 8,877 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2003-2010). Using 24-hr dietary recall data, we quantified: a) fast food intake [percent of total energy intake (TEI) from fast food]; b) fast food-derived fat intake (percent of TEI from fat in fast food); and c) fast food intake by food group (dairy, eggs, grains, meat, and other). We examined associations between dietary exposures and urinary chemical concentrations using multivariate linear regression.

We observed evidence of a positive, dose-response relationship between fast food intake and exposure to phthalates (p-trend < 0.0001) but not BPA; participants with high consumption (≥ 34.9% TEI from fast food) had 23.8% (95% CI: 11.9%, 36.9%) and 39.0% (95% CI: 21.9%, 58.5%) higher levels of ΣDEHPm and DiNPm, respectively, than nonconsumers. Fast food-derived fat intake was also positively associated with ΣDEHPm and DiNPm (p-trend < 0.0001). After adjusting for other food groups, ΣDEHPm was associated with grain and other intake, and DiNPm was associated with meat and grain intake.

Fast food may be a source of exposure to DEHP and DiNP. These results, if confirmed, could inform individual and regulatory exposure reduction strategies.

Zota AR, Phillips CA, Mitro SD. 2016. Recent fast food consumption and bisphenol A and phthalates exposures among the U.S. population in NHANES, 2003-2010. Environ Health Perspect 124:1521-1528; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510803.