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Published on: June 2, 2023
Urinary phthalate concentrations are associated with total fat mass in Thai children
Ekkachai Nakaviroj1, Suphab Aroonparkmongkol1, Supaksorn Kunjan2
1Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Insights
Higher urinary phthalate levels in Thai children correlate with increased body fat. This study highlights potential health risks from phthalate exposure, independent of obesity defined by BMI. Be mindful of phthalate-containing products.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Toxicology
Background:
- Phthalates are endocrine-disrupting chemicals prevalent in consumer products.
- Chronic phthalate exposure is linked to obesity and metabolic issues.
- Limited data exists on the direct impact of phthalates on body composition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between urinary phthalate concentrations and body composition in Thai children.
- To assess potential links between phthalate exposure and measures of body fat in a pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 364 elementary school children (aged 6-13) in Bangkok.
- Quantification of urinary phthalate metabolites (MMP, MEP, MBP, MEHP) using LC-MSMS.
- Body composition analysis via Tanita BC-418; multivariate logistic regression for associations.
Main Results:
- Adjusted analysis revealed significant associations between total urinary phthalates and increased fat mass.
- Specific associations found with trunk percent fat, arm percent fat, arm fat mass, and leg fat mass.
- These correlations persisted after controlling for confounders like sex, socioeconomic status, and physical activity.
Conclusions:
- Elevated urinary phthalate concentrations are significantly linked to higher total body fat in Thai children.
- The association between phthalates and fat mass is not mediated by Body Mass Index (BMI)-defined obesity.
- Findings underscore the need for caution regarding the use of phthalate-containing products due to potential body composition effects.
Objectives:
Phthalate is one of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in many daily consumer products. Chronic exposure to phthalate may associate with obesity and metabolic abnormalities. However, there is limited information showing a direct relationship between phthalate and body compositions. The aim of the study was to determine the association between urinary phthalate concentration and body composition measure among Thai children.
Methods:
A cross-sectional analytic study on urinary phthalate concentrations and body composition in elementary school children, aged 6-13 years in Bangkok, was conducted during October 2019 to 2020. Urinary phthalate metabolites; (mono-methyl phthalate-MMP, mono-ethyl phthalate- MEP, mono-buthyl phthalate-MBP, and mono-ethylhexyl phthalate-MEHP), in early morning spot urine samples were measured by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSMS) with a quantitation limit of 1 ng/mL. Phthalate exposures were identified through questionnaires. Body composition was measured by Tanita BC-418®. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine significant associations.
Results:
A total of 364 children were enrolled in the study (boy 51.4%). After adjusting for confounders (sex, caregiver educations, family income, BMI-SDS: Body mass index-standard deviation score, TV watching, and exercise frequency), total urinary phthalate concentrations were associated with fat mass 8.24 (0.94, 15.53), trunk percent fat 7.69 (3.26, 12.12), arm percent fat 3.69 (0.47, 6.91), arm fat mass 72.88 (1.08, 144.67), and leg fat mass 17.79 (2.37, 33.22).
Conclusions:
Higher urinary phthalate concentrations were significantly associated with elevated total fat mass among Thai school-aged children. These findings were not mediated through the degree of obesity defined by BMI. These finding emphasized to be careful when being use phthalate-containing products.
