Association of diethylhexyl phthalate with obesity-related markers and body mass change from birth to 3 months of age

Abstract

BackgroundSeveral studies have suggested potential links of phthalates to obesity in children and adults. Limited evidence, however, has been available for the relations between diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and obesity-related markers or body mass change in early life.Methods128 healthy pregnant women were recruited and, after delivery, their newborns’ first urine and umbilical cord blood samples were collected. We measured urinary levels of two DEHP metabolites, mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP) and mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP). We also measured the levels of leptin, total cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) in cord serum, and used them along with weight, length, head circumference and ponderal index (PI, 100 g/cm3) at birth, as obesity-related markers, and estimated the relations between DEHP metabolites and obesity-related markers using generalised linear models. For the evaluation of body mass increase by early life DEHP exposure, body mass index (BMI) z-score change during 3 months after birth by DEHP metabolites in the first urine samples of the newborns were evaluated using logistic regression.ResultsDEHP exposure was associated with decrease of PI and increase of TG (PI, β=−0.11, p=0.070 and TG, β=0.14, p=0.027), especially for boys (PI, β=−0.13, p=0.021; and TG, β=0.19, p=0.025). Moreover, DEHP exposure was positively associated with body mass increase during 3 months after birth (change of BMI z-scores, OR=4.35, p=0.025).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that DEHP exposure may affect body mass change in early life through changes of obesity-related markers.

Metabolism disrupting chemicals and metabolic disorders

“…Prenatal exposure of mice to one phthalate, DEHP, results in increased body weight as well as increased body fat in male offspring; similar findings were reported in studies from different labs using different animal models [356-359]. Epidemiologic data linking prenatal phthalate exposures to obesity are limited and mixed [360-364]. Although daily exposure measurements are less variable than BPA, phthalates are also prone to exposure misclassifications.…”

Epidemiology of Childhood Obesity in Korea

“…In Korea, phthalate presence in urine and serum are associated with childhood obesity. Diethylhexyl phthalate exposure in particular was positively related to increase BMI during the first 3 months after birth [55]. The level of dehydroepiandrosterone, an endogenous steroid, has demonstrated a significant difference between obese and control groups [56].…”

Prenatal phthalate biomarker concentrations and performance on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II in a population of young urban children

“…Figure 1 provides comparisons of our results with two such studies, including Tellez-Rojo et al who investigated prenatal phthalate exposure in relation to performance on the BSID-II among 135 children ages 2 to 3 years living in Mexico City between 1997 and 2003, and Whyatt et al who investigated this association among 319 children at approximately 3 years of age living in New York City between 1996 and 2006 (Figure 1) (Whyatt et al 2012; Tellez-Rojo et al 2013). The implications of these differences in associations among boys and girls are unclear, but are echoed in sexually dimorphic associations across a range of outcomes in relation to phthalate exposure, including anogenital distance (Swan et al 2015), behavior (Engel et al 2010; Swan et al 2010; Kobrosly et al 2014; Swan et al 2015), and growth (Valvi et al 2015; Kim et al 2016; Buckley et al 2016; Maresca et al 2015). Additional experimental evidence would improve our understanding of how phthalates might influence sexually dimorphic neurologic development in human populations, although plausible biological mechanisms have been noted (Miodovnik et al 2011).…”