Urinary Paraben Concentrations and Ovarian Aging among Women from a Fertility Center

Abstract

Background: Parabens are preservatives commonly used in personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and foods. There is documented widespread human exposure to parabens, and some experimental data suggest that they act as estrogenic endocrine disruptors. As far as we are aware, no epidemiologic studies have assessed female reproductive health effects in relation to paraben exposure.Objective: We examined the association of urinary paraben concentrations with markers of ovarian reserve in a prospective cohort study of women seeking fertility treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.Methods: Measures of ovarian reserve were day-3 follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), antral follicle count (AFC), and ovarian volume. Paraben concentrations [methylparaben (MP), propylparaben (PP), and butylparaben (BP)] were measured in spot urine samples collected prior to the assessment of outcome measures. We used linear and Poisson regression models to estimate associations of urinary paraben concentrations (in tertiles) with ovarian reserve measures.Results: Of the women enrolled in 2004–2010, 192 had at least one ovarian reserve outcome measured (mean age ± SD, 36.1 ± 4.5 years; range, 21.0–46.7 years). MP and PP were detected in > 99% of urine samples and BP in > 75%. We found a suggestive trend of lower AFC with increasing urinary PP tertiles [mean percent change (95% CI) for tertiles 2 and 3 compared with tertile 1, respectively, were –5.0% (–23.7, 18.4) and –16.3% (–30.8, 1.3); trend p-value (ptrend) = 0.07] as well as higher day-3 FSH with higher urinary PP tertiles [mean change (95% CI) for tertiles 2 and 3 compared with tertile 1 were 1.16 IU/L (–0.26, 2.57) and 1.02 IU/L (–0.40, 2.43); ptrend = 0.16]. We found no consistent evidence of associations between urinary MP or BP and day-3 FSH or AFC, or between urinary MP, PP, or BP and ovarian volume.Conclusions: PP may be associated with diminished ovarian reserve. However, our results require confirmation in further studies.Citation: Smith KW, Souter I, Dimitriadis I, Ehrlich S, Williams PL, Calafat AM, Hauser R. 2013. Urinary paraben concentrations and ovarian aging among women from a fertility center. Environ Health Perspect 121:1299–1305; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1205350

Urinary paraben concentrations and in vitro fertilization outcomes among women from a fertility clinic

“…Based on earlier data from women in the same cohort as the current analysis, we reported that PP was associated with diminished ovarian reserve (i.e., antral follicle count) (20). Nevertheless, male paraben concentrations were not associated with fertilization or live birth among their female partners undergoing IVF or IUI treatment (21).…”

Theoretical investigation on the kinetics and mechanisms of hydroxyl radical-induced transformation of parabens and its consequences for toxicity: Influence of alkyl-chain length

“…Furthermore, parabens have been detected in breast tumor tissue, and may be associated with the formation of these cancers (Darbre and Harvey, 2008;Kuş et al, 2013). Recent studies on a series of parabens, including methyl-(MPB), ethyl-(EPB), propyl-(PPB), and butyl-parabens (BPB) (structures are shown in Fig 1) (Karpuzoglu et al, 2013), have revealed that parabens affect estrogen levels, potentially impacting female reproductive health (Smith et al, 2013). Due to their potential toxicity to aquatic organisms and human beings, it is important to study the transformation and removal of these pollutants from water environments.…”

Transplacental passage of antimicrobial paraben preservatives

“…[12][13][14][15][16] Studies have also shown detectable levels in pregnant women through urine evaluation, 15,17 but did not evaluate fetal levels. Regarding any potential concern for the developing fetus and newborn postdelivery, it is necessary to first determine whether these substances cross the placenta.…”