Is there an optimal sampling time and number of samples for assessing exposure to fast elimination endocrine disruptors with urinary biomarkers?

Lim²,

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

Phthalates are well-known endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Many detrimental health effects of phthalates were investigated, but studies on the association of phthalates with obesity in children showed inconsistent results. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to clarify whether prenatal and postnatal exposures to phthalates are associated with physical growth disturbances in children. We performed the systematic review and meta-analysis following the PRISMA 2020 statement guidelines, and found 39 studies that met our inclusion criteria, including 22 longitudinal and 17 cross-sectional studies. We observed a significant negative association between the prenatal exposure to DEHP and the body mass index (BMI) z-score of the offspring (β = − 0.05; 95% CI: − 0.10, − 0.001) in the meta-analysis, while no significant association between the prenatal exposure to DEHP and the body fat percentage of the offspring was observed (β = 0.01; 95% CI: − 0.41, 0.44). In the systematic review, studies on the association between phthalates exposure in childhood and obesity were inconsistent. Prenatal exposure to phthalates was found to be associated with decreased BMI z-score in children, but not associated with body fat percentage. Our findings suggest that phthalates disturb the normal muscle growth of children, rather than induce obesity, as previous studies have hypothesized.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal exposure to phthalate and decreased body mass index of children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Lim²,

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

“…Because of what are often considered inconsistent results across epidemiologic studies as well as other challenges associated with observational studies, agencies often base their guidance values on animal studies despite uncertainty in extrapolating results to human populations. Exposure misclassification resulting from an insufficient number of biological samples has been described for multiple chemicals, such as bisphenols, pyrethroids, and triclosan [7,10,20]. This misclassification is likely to contribute to discrepancies across studies, especially for chemicals with a short biological half-life and sporadic exposure events.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Many Urine Samples Are Needed to Accurately Assess Exposure to Non-Persistent Chemicals? The Biomarker Reliability Assessment Tool (BRAT) for Scientists, Research Sponsors, and Risk Managers

Verner

Salame

Housand

et al. 2020

IJERPH

In epidemiologic and exposure research, biomonitoring is often used as the basis for assessing human exposure to environmental chemicals. Studies frequently rely on a single urinary measurement per participant to assess exposure to non-persistent chemicals. However, there is a growing consensus that single urine samples may be insufficient for adequately estimating exposure. The question then arises: how many samples would be needed for optimal characterization of exposure? To help researchers answer this question, we developed a tool called the Biomarker Reliability Assessment Tool (BRAT). The BRAT is based on pharmacokinetic modeling simulations, is freely available, and is designed to help researchers determine the approximate number of urine samples needed to optimize exposure assessment. The BRAT performs Monte Carlo simulations of exposure to estimate internal levels and resulting urinary concentrations in individuals from a population based on user-specified inputs (e.g., biological half-life, within- and between-person variability in exposure). The BRAT evaluates—through linear regression and quantile classification—the precision/accuracy of the estimation of internal levels depending on the number of urine samples. This tool should guide researchers towards more robust biomonitoring and improved exposure classification in epidemiologic and exposure research, which should in turn improve the translation of that research into decision-making.

“…Nearly all nationwide biomonitoring studies include urine collection [ 100 ], with the first dating back to 1970s and 1980s [ 101 ]. There is also a large body of methodological literature focusing on opportunities and caveats in urine analysis (e.g., Barr et al [ 11 ], Faÿs et al [ 102 ], Franklin et al [ 103 ], Klimowska et al [ 104 ], Meeker et al [ 105 ], Needham et al [ 106 ]). In contrast, WBs have been in use for exposure assessment only since 2014 [ 20 ], and no population-scale study has yet been conducted.…”

Section: Comparison Of Wristbands With Other Matricesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicone Wristbands in Exposure Assessment: Analytical Considerations and Comparison with Other Approaches

Wacławik

Rodzaj

Wielgomas

2022

IJERPH

Humans are exposed to numerous potentially harmful chemicals throughout their lifetime. Although many studies have addressed this issue, the data on chronic exposure is still lacking. Hence, there is a growing interest in methods and tools allowing to longitudinally track personal exposure to multiple chemicals via different routes. Since the seminal work by O’Connell et al. (2014), silicone wristbands (WBs) have been increasingly used to facilitate human exposure assessment, as using WBs as a wearable sampler offers new insights into measuring chemical risks involved in many ambient and occupational scenarios. However, the literature lacks a detailed overview regarding methodologies being used; a comprehensive comparison with other approaches of personal exposure assessment is needed as well. Therefore, the aim of this review is fourfold. First, we summarize hitherto conducted research that employed silicone WBs as personal passive samplers. Second, all pre-analytical and analytical steps used to obtain exposure data are discussed. Third, we compare main characteristics of WBs with key features of selected matrices used in exposure assessment, namely urine, blood, hand wipes, active air sampling, and settled dust. Finally, we discuss future needs of research employing silicone WBs. Our work shows a variety of possibilities, advantages, and caveats associated with employment of silicone WBs as personal passive samplers. Although further research is necessary, silicone WBs have already been proven valuable as a tool for longitudinal assessment of personal exposure.