Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 30, 2025

Preclinical Model of Prenatal Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Exposure to Assess Its Impact on Neurodevelopmental Outcomes
Published on: February 28, 2025
Association between trimester-specific exposure to thirteen endocrine disrupting chemicals and preterm birth:
Yingyu Chen1, Han Xiao2, Asmagvl Namat1
1Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China.
Background:
Growing evidence indicated that maternal exposure to some endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may increase the risk of preterm birth (PTB). However, few studies have evaluated the joint effect of EDCs on PTB.
Objectives:
This study aimed to evaluate the associations of maternal EDCs mixture in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters during pregnancy with PTB, and identify the vital components that mainly contribute to PTB.
Methods:
This study included 847 pregnant women that provided urine samples for all three trimesters. Urinary concentrations of thirteen EDC metabolites (four phthalates, two parabens, three phenols, and four benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles) were examined. Logistic regression model, quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models were applied to study the association.
Results:
Logistic regression model suggested that only bisphenol A (BPA) in the 1st trimester significantly increased the OR of PTB after adjusting for BPA exposure in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Quantile g-computation model identified that urinary EDCs mixture in the 1st trimester were positively associated with PTB [OR (95 % CI): 1.98 (1.10, 3.58)], and the most heavily weighted component for PTB was BPA (26 %), followed by mono-2ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) (22 %). BKMR model determined a significant association between EDCs mixture in the 1st trimester and PTB when all EDC concentrations were at or above their 55th percentile compared with the median. The BKMR model found that BPA and MEHP were associated with an increase in the estimated probability of PTB, when the other EDCs were held to their 50th and 75th percentiles, respectively, in the 1st trimester.
Conclusions:
The results of mixture analysis models indicated that exposure to higher EDCs mixture in the 1st trimester may increase the risk of PTB. BPA was considered as the most contributing factor for PTB among the detected EDCs.
More Related Videos
08:28Assessment of the Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds on the Development of Vertebrate Neural Network Function Using Multi-electrode Arrays
Published on: April 26, 2018
07:08Long-term Behavioral and Reproductive Consequences of Embryonic Exposure to Low-dose Toxicants
Published on: March 6, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Teratogenicity
Regression Toward the Mean
Strategies for Assessing and Addressing Confounding
Confounding can be addressed at both the design phase of a study and through analytical methods after data...
Mechanistic Models: Compartment Models in Individual and Population Analysis
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
Confounding in Epidemiological Studies