Urine di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate Metabolites Are Independently Related To Body Fluid Status in Adults: Results From a U.S. Nationally Representative Survey

Abstract

Background Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) has been utilized in many daily used products for decades. Previous studies have reported DEHP exposure could induce renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system activation and increase epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) activity, which contributes to extracellular fluid (ECF) volume expansion. However, there is also no previous study to evaluate the association between DEHP exposure and body fluid status. Methods We selected 1,678 subjects (aged ≧ 18 years) from a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2003–2004 to determine the relationship among urine DEHP metabolites and body composition (body measures, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)). Results After weighted for sampling strategy, we reported higher levels of DEHP metabolites was correlated with increases in body measures (body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist), parameters of BIA (estimated fat mass, percent body fat, ECF, and ECF /intracellular fluid (ICF) ratio) in multiple linear regression analysis. The relationship between DEHP metabolites with ECF/ICF ratio were more evident in subjects with younger age (20–39 year-old), women, non-Hispanic white ethnic, and subjects who were not active smokers. Conclusions Besides positively correlated with body measures and body fat, we found urine DEHP metabolites are positively correlated with ECF, ECF/ICF ratio in the US general adult population. It is necessary to do further research to clarify this causal relationship.