Paraben exposures and satiety hormones in preschool children: an ENVIRONAGE study

Exposure to environmental pollutants has been associated with obesogenic effects, yet evidence in young children remains sparse. Parabens, widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in personal care products, may disrupt satiety hormones during early life, potentially influencing long-term metabolism and weight regulation.

This cross-sectional study analyzed urinary methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butylparaben (MeP, EtP, PrP, BuP) levels in 4-6-year-old children from the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma satiety hormones (leptin, pancreatic polypeptide, glucagon-like peptide 1, and peptide YY) were measured via (radio-)immunoassays. Associations were assessed in 188 samples using covariate-adjusted linear regression, sex-stratified analysis, and mixture modeling (quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression). Additionally, the role of BMI was investigated by partial correlation analysis.

As more than 96 % of the BuP measurements were below the LOQ, only the values of MeP, EtP and PrP were used for further statistical analysis. A doubling in PrP was associated with an 5.34 % [95 % Confidence Interval: 1.58 %, 9.23 %] increase in leptin, and BKMR indicated a positive linear association between parabens and leptin. Additional sensitivity analyses were indicative of sex-specific differences in the relationship between parabens, BMI and leptin levels.

PrP may increase leptin levels, contributing to obesogenic effects in young children. Given rising childhood metabolic disorders, further longitudinal studies are needed to assess PrP exposure risks in personal care products.