Background

The harmful effects of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) on human health are generally well-known, and exposure during fetal development may have lasting effects. Fetal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) has been recently relatively well-studied; however, less is known about alternatives such as bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol AF (BPAF), which have started to appear in consumer products. Parabens are another widespread group of EDCs, with confirmed transplacental passage. The usage of many cosmetic, pharmaceutical and consumer products during the pregnancy that may contain parabens and bisphenols has led to the need for investigation.

Objectives

To shed more light into the transplacental transport of BPA, its alternatives, and parabens, and to study their relation to fetal steroidogenesis.

Methods

BPA, BPS, BPF, BPAF, methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, benzylparaben and 15 steroids including estrogens, corticoids, androgens and immunomodulatory ones were determined in 27 maternal (37th week of pregnancy) and cord plasma samples using liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry methods.

Results

In cord blood, significantly higher BPA levels (p=0.0455) were observed compared to maternal plasma. The results from multiple regression models showed that in cord blood, methylparaben (β=−0.027, p=0.027), propylparaben (β=−0.025, p=0.03) and the sum of all measured parabens (β=−0.037, p=0.015) were inversely associated with testosterone levels.

Conclusion

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the simultaneous detection of BPA, alternative bisphenols, parabens and steroids in maternal and cord plasma. Our study confirmed the transplacental transport of BPA, with likely accumulation in the fetal compartment. The negative association of cord blood parabens and testosterone levels points to possible risks with respect to importance of testosterone for prenatal male development.

中文翻译：

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怀孕期间双酚和对羟基苯甲酸酯的暴露以及与类固醇变化的关系

背景

内分泌干​​扰化合物（EDC）对人体健康的有害影响是众所周知的，在胎儿发育过程中接触可能具有持久的影响。胎儿对双酚A（BPA）的暴露最近得到了相对充分的研究。但是，对于双酚S（BPS），双酚F（BPF）和双酚AF（BPAF）等替代品的了解却很少，这些替代品已开始出现在消费产品中。对羟基苯甲酸酯是另一种广泛的EDC，具有经证实的胎盘通过途径。在怀孕期间使用许多可能含有对羟基苯甲酸酯和双酚的化妆品，药​​品和消费品，导致需要进行调查。

目标

为了进一步了解BPA，其替代品和对羟基苯甲酸酯的经胎盘运输，并研究它们与胎儿类固醇生成的关系。

方法

使用液相色谱仪-串联质谱法测定了27名孕妇（妊娠第37周）和脐带血浆样品中的BPA，BPS，BPF，BPAF，对羟基苯甲酸甲酯，对羟基苯甲酸乙酯，对羟基苯甲酸丙酯，对羟基苯甲酸丁酯，对羟基苯甲酸苄酯和15种类固醇，包括雌激素，皮质类固醇，雄激素和免疫调节剂。光谱法。

结果

与母亲血浆相比，脐带血中的BPA水平显着更高（p = 0.0455）。多元回归模型的结果表明，在脐血中，对羟基苯甲酸甲酯（β= -0.027，p = 0.027），对羟基苯甲酸丙酯（β= -0.025，p = 0.03）和所有测得的对羟基苯甲酸酯的总和（β= -0.037，p = 0.015）与睾丸激素水平呈负相关。

结论

据我们所知，这是第一项报道同时检测母体和脐带血浆中BPA，替代双酚，对羟基苯甲酸酯和类固醇的研究。我们的研究证实了双酚A的经胎盘运输，可能在胎儿区室积聚。脐带血对羟基苯甲酸酯和睾丸激素水平的负相关关系表明，睾丸激素对产前男性发育的重要性可能存在风险。