Prenatal Exposure to Phthalates and the Development of Eczema Phenotypes in Male Children: Results from the EDEN Mother–Child Cohort Study

Abstract

Background:Contradictory results exist regarding the importance of early-life exposure to phthalates for development of childhood eczema.Objectives:We evaluated the association between maternal urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites between the 24th and 28th week of gestation and occurrence of eczema in their sons up to 5 y of age, according to allergic sensitization as assessed by total immunoglobulin E (IgE) in a subsample of individuals.Methods:Data on health outcomes and background factors were collected using five standardized annual questionnaires completed by parents at the children’s ages of 1–5 y, and their associations with phthalate metabolite urinary concentrations were assessed in 604 mother–son pairs with adjusted multiple logistic regression and Cox’s survival model. Several eczema phenotypes were considered. Atopic status was assessed at 5 y of age in 293 boys through total IgE assessment.Results:At 5 y of age, the prevalence of ever eczema was 30.4%. Metabolites of di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP) and di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP) were positively associated with early-onset (0–24 mo of age) eczema (15.7%) and late-onset (24–60 mo of age) eczema (14.7%). Applying the Cox’s model showed a significant association of occurrence of eczema in the first 5 y of life with DiBP and DiNP metabolites. Among IgE-sensitized boys, metabolites of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and DiBP were significantly associated with ever eczema {hazard ratio (HR)=1.67 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10, 2.54], p=0.01 and HR=1.87 (95% CI: 1.01, 3.48), p=0.04, respectively}.Conclusions:Occurrence of eczema in early childhood may be influenced by prenatal exposure to certain phthalates in boys. Further investigations are needed to confirm this observation. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1829

Maternal phthalate exposure and asthma, rhinitis and eczema in 552 children aged 5 years; a prospective cohort study

“…We did not find associations between phthalate exposure and asthma, probably because our mothers were less exposed and the diagnosis of asthma is difficult to verify before the children can collaborate [2]. Ten cohort studies [5,7,9,[11][12][13][14][15][16]19] examined the association between prenatal phthalate exposure and eczema. Two studies [14,16] measured exposure in serum and detected an association between high concentration of MEHP and DiNP metabolites and decreased risk of eczema.…”

“…Two studies [14,16] measured exposure in serum and detected an association between high concentration of MEHP and DiNP metabolites and decreased risk of eczema. Three studies [11][12][13] found that higher urinary concentrations of MBzP, MEP, MiBP and ΣDEHP m was associated with increased odds of eczema in 2-5 years old children. One study [5] suggested that higher urinary MBzP concentration increased the risk of eczema in 2-year old but not 5year old children.…”

“…Phthalates have short biological half-lives from hours to a few days, but because exposure is ubiquitous, exposure levels may be relatively constant [5,6]. We identified 14 prospective cohort studies [5,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] examining the association between prenatal phthalate exposure and asthma or allergy. Findings are inconsistent probably because different metabolites have been measured and the age of the children varied.…”

“…Findings are inconsistent probably because different metabolites have been measured and the age of the children varied. Three studies [9,11,16] measured metabolites of diisononyl phthalate (DiNP) and only one [13] studied rhinitis.…”

Phthalates mixtures in bottled water in Iran: human health risk assessment using direct and indirect exposure assessment

“…foodstuff) or exposures caused by individual life style (i.e. medical history, demographic data, socioeconomic status, product use) pivotal in identifying causes of disease particularly in cohort studies (Soomro et al, 2018;.…”