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Association of prenatal phthalate exposure with pubertal development in Spanish boys and girls

Carmen Freire1, Francesca Castiello2, Maria-Jose Lopez-Espinosa3

  • 1Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Biomedical Research Centre, University of Granada, 18016, Granada, Spain; Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.

Environmental Research
|June 18, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal exposure to certain phthalates, like DEHP, may increase the risk of earlier puberty in children. However, the overall phthalate mixture did not show a significant effect on puberty timing in this study.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Endocrinology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Phthalates are common anti-androgenic chemicals with potential effects on early development and puberty timing.
  • Prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals is a growing public health concern.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between prenatal phthalate exposure and the timing of pubertal development in boys and girls.
  • To explore potential effect modification by child weight status on these associations.

Main Methods:

  • Quantified urinary phthalate metabolites (DEP, DiBP, DnBP, BBzP, DEHP, DiNP) and DINCH® from maternal samples during pregnancy.
  • Assessed pubertal development in children aged 7-10 years using the parent-reported Pubertal Development Scale.
  • Employed modified Poisson and Weighted Quantile Sum (WQS) regression to analyze associations, exploring effect modification by child weight.

Main Results:

  • Prenatal DEHP exposure was linked to higher risks of puberty onset and gonadarche in boys, and adrenarche in girls.
  • Specific phthalates (DEP, DnBP, DEHP) showed associations with adrenarche/gonadarche in normal-weight boys.
  • Associations varied by weight status, with some phthalates linked to lower adrenarche risk in overweight/obese boys and higher gonadarche risk in overweight/obese girls.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal exposure to certain phthalates is associated with pubertal development timing, particularly earlier puberty in normal-weight boys and overweight/obese girls.
  • No significant association was found between the overall phthalate mixture and advancement or delay of puberty in either sex.
Abstract

Keywords:
PhthalatesPlasticizersPregnancyPubertal development scalePuberty

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