Association between Urinary Haloacetic Acid Concentrations and Liver Injury among Women: Results from the Tongji...

Experimental studies have shown that disinfection byproducts (DBPs) including haloacetic acids (HAAs) can cause liver toxicity, but evidence linking this association in humans is sparse.

We aimed to explore the associations between HAA exposures and liver injury.

We included 922 women between December 2018 and January 2020 from the Tongji Reproductive and Environmental (TREE) cohort study in Wuhan, China. Urinary HAA concentrations including trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) and dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and serum indicators of liver function, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) were measured. Liver injury was defined as if any of serum indicator levels were above the 90th percentile. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were fitted to assess the associations of urinary HAA concentrations with the risk of liver injury and liver function indicators. Stratified analyses by age, body mass index (BMI), alcohol use, and passive smoking were also applied to evaluate the potential effect modifiers.

There is little evidence of associations of urinary TCAA concentrations with liver injury risk and liver function indicators. However, urinary DCAA concentrations were associated with a higher risk of liver injury [odds ratios (OR) for 1-interquartile range (IQR) increase in natural log (ln) transformed DCAA concentrations: 1.45; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07, 1.98]. This association was observed only among nondrinkers ($p_{\text{interaction}}=0.058$). We also found that a 1-IQR increase in ln-transformed DCAA concentrations was positively associated with ALT levels (percentage $\text{change}=6.06\%$; 95% CI: 0.48%, 11.95%) and negatively associated with AST/ALT (percentage $\text{change}=$$-4.48\%$; 95% CI: $-7.80\%$, $-1.04\%$). In addition, urinary DCAA concentrations in relation to higher GGT levels was observed only among passive smokers ($p_{\text{interaction}}=0.040$).

Our findings suggest that exposure to DCAA but not TCAA is associated with liver injury among women undergoing assisted reproductive technology. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13386.