International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
Phthalate exposure in pregnant women and newborns – The urinary metabolite excretion pattern differs distinctly
Introduction
Phthalic acid esters, also known as phthalates, have been widely used as plasticizers in PVC (polyvinyl chloride) products, including building materials, toys and many other products of our daily use. Some phthalates are also used in non-PVC applications such as pesticide formulations, additives in the textile industry, personal care products, paints or adhesives. Therefore, phthalates have become ubiquitous chemicals and environmental contaminants (Wormuth et al., 2006).
Some phthalates are developmental and reproductive toxicants in rodents and have to be regarded as endocrine disruptors for humans (Foster, 2005). They have been shown to modulate the endogenous production of fetal testicular testosterone with critical effects related to functional and structural impairment of male reproduction and development. In addition to these effects an influence on pregnancy duration and birth length has also been described (Adibi et al., 2009, Latini et al., 2003a, Latini et al., 2005, Wolff et al., 2008). In general, the fetal development and the early infant life are regarded as the most vulnerable periods of phthalate exposure (NAS, 2008).
The exposure of women and older children has already been determined for some phthalates (e.g. Di-ethyl phthalate (DEP), Di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)), with generally higher phthalate metabolite levels in children's than adults urine (Becker et al., 2009, Casas et al., 2011, Frederiksen et al., 2011, Kasper-Sonnenberg et al., 2011, Silva et al., 2004a). Nevertheless, data on healthy newborns together with their pregnant mothers have only rarely been published (Sathyanarayana et al., 2008a, Adibi et al., 2008, Latini et al., 2003b, Wittassek and Angerer, 2008). Some studies reported the excretion of DEHP metabolites in neonatal intensive care unit infants (Calafat et al., 2004, Koch et al., 2006, Weuve et al., 2006, Su et al., 2012). We are not aware of any study investigating newborns first urine samples. The aim of this study was to investigate the phthalate exposure of regular term pregnant women and newborns directly after birth by determining the most complete set of 21 urinary phthalate metabolites, including novel secondary oxidized metabolites (Table 1). Special focus was put on obtaining the newborns first urines and comparing their phthalate metabolite pattern with the pattern of their mothers.
Section snippets
Subjects and sample collection
Urine samples of obviously healthy newborns and pregnant women (Table 2A, Table 2B) were collected from 2008 to 2010 in Jena, Germany. All newborns were born at term after uncomplicated singleton pregnancy. All women had an uncomplicated pregnancy and were in the age group 30 ± 5 years and of normal body weight. Data concerning pregnancy were obtained from maternity records of the hospital. In the “newborns urine day 2–5” subpopulation (see below), urine collection was more successful after
Metabolite concentrations
The metabolite concentrations for the maternal urine samples (both subpopulations of pregnant women) and the newborn urine samples (newborns first urine and urines form day 2 to 5) are listed in Table 3. Of the 21 phthalate metabolites analyzed, 18 metabolites were detected in the majority of all samples; three metabolites (MnPeP, MCHP and MnOP) were below limit of quantification (LOQ) in all samples of maternal and newborn urine. In all 4 subpopulations metabolites of DEP, DnBP, DiBP, DEHP and
Discussion
The set of 21 phthalate metabolites analyzed represents the most extensive spectrum of metabolites currently available, including various secondary oxidized metabolites that are not prone to external contamination and ideal biomarkers of exposure because of their rather long half-times of elimination (Koch and Calafat, 2009). For the first time we report metabolite levels in first urines of healthy newborns. By analyzing these first urines we intended to determine the body burden of newborns
Conclusions
The presence of all phthalate metabolites already in the first urine of healthy newborns strongly indicates the possibility of a transplacental passage of these substances. Thus, the placenta does not seem to protect the developing fetus from a maternal phthalate exposure. Phthalate metabolites found in the first urines may result from a transplacental passage of the parent phthalate or its monoester or the oxidized metabolites. The fetal capacity to metabolize phthalates thus remains
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the families for taking part in our research study and midwifes of Jena University Hospital department of Obstetrics for their assistance.
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