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Effect of environmental phthalate exposure on pregnancy duration and birth outcomes
Kinga Polańska1, Danuta Ligocka2, Wojciech Sobala3
1Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland (Department of Environmental Epidemiology). kinga@imp.lodz.pl.
Objectives:
The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of phthalate exposure on pregnancy duration and birth outcomes based on the Polish Mother and Child Cohort (REPRO_PL).
Material And Methods:
Phthalate exposure was determined by measuring 11 phthalate metabolites (mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-iso-butyl phthalate (MiBP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), 3OH-mono-n-butyl phthalate (OH-MnBP), mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono‑ (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), mono-hydroxy-iso-nonyl phthalate (MHiNP), mono-oxo-iso-nonyl phthalate (MOiNP), and mono-n-octyl phthalate (MOP)) in the urine collected from 165 mothers during the third trimester of pregnancy by high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The following measures at birth were considered: gestational age, birth weight, length as well as head and chest circumference.
Results:
Pregnancy duration was inversely associated with natural log concentrations (μg/g creatinine) of MEP (standardized regression coefficient (β) = -0.2, p = 0.04) after adjustment for a variety of confounders. Significant impact of MOiNP on head circumference (β = -0.1, p = 0.05) was also observed.
Conclusions:
The study findings add further support to the hypothesis that phthalate exposure may be associated with shorter pregnancy duration and a decreased head circumference, and underscore importance of public health interventions to reduce that exposure.
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