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Phthalates are used in a wide variety of personal care products (PCPs) as solubilizer, denaturant or color fixative. However, there are few studies referring the correlation between phthalate exposure and PCPs use among general population in China. In this study, ten metabolites of phthalates in spot urine samples (N = 500) were quantified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The frequency and duration of 12 types of PCPs were collected by questionnaire survey. The associations of phthalate metabolites and PCPs use were assessed by multivariable liner regression models. Median concentration of mono-benzylphthalate (MBzP) was significantly higher among frequent users of almost all PCPs. Low molecular weight phthalates (monomethyl phthalate (MMP), mono-n-butylphthalate (MnBP) and monoisobutylphthalate (MiBP)) were significantly lower among frequent user of some rinse-off PCPs (e.g., shampoo, facial cleanser, and body wash). Meanwhile, monoethylphthalate (MEP) was positive correlated with frequently use of facial moisturizer. Mono-2-ethylhexylphthalate (MEHP) and MBzP showed a significant positive association with frequently use of body lotion. Univariate linear analyses indicated a significant decreasing trend between urinary concentrations of MMP, MnBP, and the number of rinse-off PCPs being frequently used, and a significant increasing trend between urinary MBzP and the number of leave-on products being frequently used. These findings indicated that the use of some PCPs, especially leave-on PCPs, could be a potential source of exposure to some phthalates.

The effect of human exposure to phthalates and consequent contribution to the development of cardiometabolic health problems is unknown. However, oxidative stress has been established as playing an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic outcomes. In this study, we aimed to explore whether exposure to phthalate metabolites could induce cardiometabolic risk by increasing oxidative stress in a diabetic population from Shanghai. We collected paired blood and urine samples from a total of 300 volunteers, and measured 10 phthalate metabolites in urine and biomarkers of oxidative stress from serum including glucose and lipid levels, and liver and kidney damage. The insulin resistance (IR) risk was assessed by the surrogate indices including homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and triglyceride glucose (TyG). We used multivariable linear regression to assess the association between phthalates and these physiological parameters. Mediation and modification analyses were performed to identify the role that oxidative stress played in the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that most of the determined phthalate metabolites were positively associated with HOMA-IR, 8‑hydroxy‑2'‑deoxyguanosine (8-OHDG), and malondialdehyde (MDA). In the mediation analysis, only γ‑glutamiltransferase (GGT) was found to be a significant mediator of the association between phthalates and TyG. In the modification analysis, exposure to phthalates strengthened the association between oxidative stress (MDA and 8-OHDG) and HOMA-IR. Our findings demonstrate that exposure to phthalates might be positively associated with elevated IR and oxidative stress. The direct participation (mediation effect) of GGT might play an important mechanism in promoting IR., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Phthalates are predominantly used as plasticizers in daily consumer products. People are regularly exposed to phthalates through contact with these products. Phthalates are suspected to cause adverse effects in general population. We detected 10 metabolites of 6 phthalates in 3348 urine samples of general population (infants (0-1 yr), children and adolescents (2-19 yr), adults (≥20 yr), and pregnant women) from Shanghai. The Daily intake for phthalates was estimated based on the levels of urinary metabolites. Hazard quotient (HQ) was used to evaluate the risk from the exposure to a single chemical. For the cumulative risk calculation, HQs of different phthalates were added to produce the Hazard index (HI). Overall, exposure was low in adults but presented at a relatively high level throughout childhood. The exposure to some specific phthalates was high in infants and pregnant women. The cumulative risk assessment showed cause for concern mainly for infants and children subgroups. The results indicated that general population from Shanghai was widely exposed to phthalates and the infants were possibly at a high risk of cumulative exposure to phthalates., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Phthalate exposure has been reported to be associated with obesity (measured by body mass index [BMI]) and central obesity (measured by waist circumference [WC]). Yet, reported associations and the potential gender and age differences are inconsistent. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 2330 participants in the fall of 2012. Urinary metabolites of ten phthalates were measured. Height, body weight, and waist circumference (WC) were measured using standardized methods. We performed logistic regression analyses to estimate the association between each urine phthalate metabolite (categorized into quartiles) and obesity and central obesity and conducted an additional, stratified analysis to explore the gender and age differences. In the overall study population, higher urinary levels of MMP, MEHHP, and MECPP were associated with increased ratios of central obesity. When stratifying by gender and central obesity, higher urinary levels of MMP, MEHHP, and MEOHP were associated with increased odds of central obesity in females, whereas MB z P was significantly associated inversely with central obesity in females. In males, it showed no significant P value for trend (P trend). When stratifying by age in females, higher urinary levels of MEHP, MEOHP, MEHHP, and MECPP were associated with increased odds of central obesity in women aged ≤45 years. In females aged >45 years, it showed no significant P trend. In conclusion, we found that association between phthalates and central obesity was stronger than between phthalates and obesity; association between phthalates and central obesity was stronger in females than in males and was stronger in younger females (aged ≤45 years) than in older females (aged >45 years).

Phthalate exposure was reported to be associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Yet, reported associations and the potential sex differences are inconsistent. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 2330 participants in the Fall of 2012. Urinary metabolites of 10 phthalates were measured. The status of having DM and CVD-related outcomes were self-reported. In the overall study population, the logistic regression analyses showed that the urinary levels of mono-2-ethyl-5-oxohexyphthalate (MEOHP), mono-2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexylphthalate(MEHHP) and mono-2-ethyl-5-carboxypentylphthalate (MECPP) were positively associated with DM. Higher urinary levels of monomethyl phthalate (MMP) and mono-2-carboxymethyl-hexyl phthalate (MCMHP) were associated with increased odds of hyperlipidemia, while mono-2-ethylhexylphthalate (MEHP) was significantly inverse-associated with hyperlipidemia. We did not observe significant associations for other CVD-related outcomes with phthalate metabolites. When stratifying by sex, MEHHP, MEOHP, MECPP, MCMHP and the micromolar sums of the oxidative metabolites of DEHP (ΣDEHP ox ) were all significantly related to DM in males, but not in females. No significant sex differences were found in CVD-related outcomes, except the sporadic associations between phthalates and hyperlipidemia. These findings highlight the importance of investigating the sex-specific relationship between phthalates exposure and DM., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: Diet is considered to be a significant exposure pathway for phthalates. In this study, we assessed the associations between food consumption and urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites among Shanghai adults., Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 2418 participants was conducted in the fall of 2012. Recent food consumption was assessed by a 24-h dietary recall survey, and a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) characterized long-term dietary patterns. Urinary metabolites of six phthalates were measured., Results: Both the 24-h recall survey and FFQ identified wheat, dairy, and fruits as being positively associated with the excretion of phthalate metabolites. The 24-h recall data also showed positive associations with processed meats and alcohol. We evaluated the impact of reported consumption of multiple food categories simultaneously (wheat, fruits, meats, etc.) on metabolite excretion and found that, as more food types were consumed, the number of metabolites excreted, as well as their concentrations, increased with high significance (p values<0.0001). We also evaluated the two survey instruments together. When both surveys reported consumption of fruits and dairy, the numbers of metabolites and their concentrations were significantly higher compared to when both surveys reported non-consumption, (p values<0.000001). Rice consumption was found to be negatively associated with phthalate excretion; frequent and high levels of rice consumption were found to be associated with lower excretion of metabolites., Conclusion: Food consumption was associated with phthalate exposure in Shanghai adults. Both 24-h recall and FFQ identified significant associations between consumption of food types and phthalate exposure., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To estimate the levels of phthalates exposure and cumulative risk assessment among infants and their mothers in Shanghai by phthalate monoesters inurine specimens., Methods: To collect urine specimens and questionnaires from 152 pairs of infants and mothers in Shanghai and conduct a cross-sectional study. Ten phthalate monoesters were determined by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectroscopy. To estimate the internal exposure of 6 phthalates by creatininemodel and performe cumulative risk assessment by hazard index( HI)., Results: The top five of the concentration level of phthalate monoesters in mothers' urine specimens were mono-isobutyl phthalate( Mi BP), mono-n-butyl phthalate( Mn BP), mono-ethyl phthalate( MEP), mono-methyl phthalate( MMP) and mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate( MEHP), while in infants ', they were Mi BP, Mn BP, MEP, MEHP and mono-2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl phthalate( MECPP). The estimated daily intake( EDI) was calculated according to the concentration of urinary phthalates monoesters. And the DEHP was at the highest level both in mothers and infants, the geometric means( GMs) reached to 6. 64 and 14. 02 μg/(kg·d). While others from high to low were Di BP, Dn BP, DEP, DMP and BBP respectively. HI was used to perform cumulative risk assessment. The proportion of HI over 1 among mothers was 5. 92%, and among infants was 32. 24%., Conclusion: There are some health risks of the phthalates exposure among mothers and infants in communities in Shanghai, and the cumulative risks of infants are higher than mothers.