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Updated: Jul 28, 2025
Long-term Behavioral and Reproductive Consequences of Embryonic Exposure to Low-dose Toxicants
Published on: March 6, 2018
Bisphenol and phthalate exposure during pregnancy and the development of childhood lung function and asthma. The
Tarik Karramass1, Chalana Sol2, Kurunthachalam Kannan3
1The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Pediatrics, Division of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Insights
Fetal exposure to bisphenols and phthalates showed no strong links to childhood respiratory health. Bisphenol S (BPS) showed some associations with lung function and asthma risk, but more research is needed.
Area of Science:
- Environmental health
- Pediatric respiratory health
- Endocrine disruption
Background:
- Fetal exposure to bisphenols and phthalates may negatively impact child respiratory and immune system development.
- Adverse respiratory health outcomes in children have been linked to prenatal exposure to these chemicals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between fetal exposure to bisphenols and phthalates and lung function.
- To examine the relationship between fetal exposure to bisphenols and phthalates and asthma development at age 13.
Main Methods:
- A prospective cohort study involving 1020 children.
- Maternal urine samples collected during pregnancy to measure bisphenol and phthalate concentrations.
- Lung function assessed via spirometry and asthma diagnosed through questionnaires at age 13.
Main Results:
- Averaged maternal urinary bisphenol and phthalate levels during pregnancy were not linked to childhood lung function or asthma.
- Second-trimester exposure to mono-isobutyl phthalate was associated with higher FEV1/FVC ratio.
- Bisphenol S (BPS) showed some associations with reduced lung function and altered asthma risk, particularly in a sex-dependent manner, but these did not consistently reach statistical significance after multiple testing corrections.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal exposure to bisphenols and phthalates, on average or by trimester, did not demonstrate strong associations with lung function or asthma in children at age 13.
- Bisphenol S (BPS), a substitute for Bisphenol A (BPA), indicated potential links to impaired lung function and modified asthma risk, warranting further investigation in current populations.
Background:
Fetal exposure to bisphenols and phthalates may lead to alterations in the respiratory and immune system development in children, and to adverse respiratory health.
Aim:
To study the associations of fetal bisphenols and phthalates exposure with lung function and asthma at age 13 years.
Study Design And Methods:
This study among 1020 children was embedded in a population-based prospective cohort study. We measured maternal urine bisphenol and phthalate concentrations in the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy, and lung function by spirometry and asthma by questionnaires at age 13 years. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were applied.
Results:
Maternal urine bisphenol and phthalate concentrations averaged during pregnancy were not associated with childhood lung function or asthma. Associations of maternal urine bisphenol and phthalate concentrations in specific trimesters with respiratory outcomes showed that one interquartile range increase in the natural log-transformed maternal urine mono-isobutyl phthalate concentration in the second trimester was associated with a higher FEV1/FVC, but not with asthma, accounting for confounders and multiple-testing correction. Although there were associations of higher second trimester bisphenol S with a lower FVC and FEV1 in boys and girls, and of higher first trimester bisphenol S with a decreased risk of asthma in boys and an increased risk of asthma in girls, these results did not remain significant after correction for multiple testing. Results were not modified by maternal history of asthma or atopy.
Conclusions:
Maternal urine bisphenol and phthalate concentrations averaged or in specific trimesters during pregnancy were not strongly associated with childhood lung function and asthma at age 13 years. BPS, as a BPA substitute, tended to be associated with impaired lung function and altered risk of asthma, partly sex-dependent, but its strength was limited by a relatively low detection rate and should be queried in contemporary cohorts.
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