Urinary phthalate metabolites and arterial stiffness: A panel study

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Cardiovascular Science
• Toxicology

Background:

• Phthalate exposure is widespread, but its link to arterial stiffness in adults is not well understood.
• Arterial stiffness, a marker of cardiovascular risk, can be influenced by environmental factors.
• Urinary phthalate metabolites serve as biomarkers for exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the longitudinal associations between urinary phthalate metabolites and arterial stiffness in Chinese adults.
• To identify specific phthalate metabolites linked to arterial stiffness parameters like brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and ankle-brachial index (ABI).

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal panel study with 127 Chinese adults over 3 visits.
• Collection of daily urine samples for 4 consecutive days to measure 10 phthalate metabolites using GC-MS/MS.
• Assessment of arterial stiffness using baPWV and ABI, analyzed with Linear Mixed-Effect (LME) models and adaptive LASSO.
• Generalized Estimating Equations used for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) risk estimation.

Main Results:

• Mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP) at lag 0 day was associated with reduced ABI (β = 0.013, P = 0.003).
• No significant phthalate associations were found for baPWV.
• The inverse association between MBP and ABI was more pronounced in males (P_interaction = 0.025).
• A borderline increased risk of PAD was observed with MBP exposure (P = 0.06).

Conclusions:

• Environmental exposure to mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP) may contribute to arterial stiffness.
• The effect of MBP on arterial stiffness appears to be sex-specific, with a stronger association observed in males.
• Findings highlight MBP as a potential risk factor for vascular dysfunction.