Endocrine-disrupting chemicals in human adipose tissue and associations between exposure and obesity

Bio-accumulation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in human body may result in various adverse health effects. This study measured the levels of 16 EDCs in the visceral adipose tissue of 55 participants in China and investigated their association with obesity. MeP, BPP, PrP, BPA, EtP, BPE, and BPC were frequently detected in more than 50 % of the adipose tissues. A positive correlation between bisphenol A and body mass index (BMI) was observed in both multivariate linear regression model (β = 0.87, 95 % confidence interval: 0.21-1.53, p = 0.011) and multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio = 1.28, 95 % confidence interval: 1.01-1.62, 0.044). Restricted cubic spline regression analysis revealed a significant nonlinear association between bisphenol P and BMI. Weighted quantile sum regression and quantile-based g-computation revealed a slight positive trend between EDCs mixed exposure and BMI, with bisphenol A as the primary contributor to the positive correlation with BMI. Our findings suggest the extensive existence of environmental EDCs in the adipose tissue of the adult Chinese population and indicate that exposure to BPA in adipose tissue may be associated with the occurrence of obesity.