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Association between Urinary Metabolite Levels of Organophosphorus Flame Retardants and Serum Sex Hormone Levels Measured in a Reference Sample of the US General Population

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Abstract

Use of organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) in consumer materials has led to widespread human exposure. Research is needed to examine the health effects attributable to the general population’s exposure to OPFRs. Using the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) (2013–2014), multiple regression analyses were performed to compare the adjusted geometric means (aGMs) of serum sex hormone by quartiles of urinary metabolites of OPFRs, including diphenyl phosphate (DPhP), bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BDCPP), bis(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (BCEP) and dibutyl phosphate(DBuP), in children (6–9 years old), adolescents (10–19 years old) and adults(≥ 20 years old), while accounting for potential confounding factors. The aGMs of sex hormone-binding globulin increased by 36% (95% CI 6.1–56.7%) in female children (p = 0.03), 44% (95% CI 16–63%) in female adolescents (p = 0.010), and 22% (95% CI 3.51–37%) in female adults (p = 0.025), from the 1st to 4th quartiles of the levels of DPhP, BDCPP, DBUP, respectively. The aGMs of estradiol (EST) decreased by 64% and 77% from the 1st to 4th quartiles of the DBUP levels in female children (p = 0.015) and female adolescent (p = 0.020), respectively. The aGMs of EST increased by 31% (95% CI 3.8–51%) from the 1st to 4th quartiles of the DBUP levels in female adults (p = 0.031). These findings suggest that exposure to certain OPFRs is associated with the altered sex hormone levels in this sample of US population. More studies are needed to examine the mechanisms responsible for these observations.

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Funding

The research in this study was supported by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (P30 CA 016056). Wei’s effort was also supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the US FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) (NIH Grant No. R21 ES030028). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.

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  1. Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Studies, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Binnian Wei, Richard O’Connor, Maciej Goniewicz & Andrew Hyland

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  1. Binnian Wei
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Correspondence to Binnian Wei.

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Conflicts of interest

MLG has received research grant from Pfizer and served as a member of scientific advisory board to Johnson&Johnson, pharmaceutical companies that manufacture smoking cessation medications.

Data Availability and Material

Both the laboratory and questionnaire data are publicly accessible at NHANES’s website at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.htm.

Ethics approval

The NCHS Research Ethics Review Board (ERB) protected the rights and welfare of NHANES participants, and the NCHS ERB reviewed and approved NHANES protocols in accordance with Federal regulations. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants or their parent/guardian prior to collecting any data.

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Wei, B., O’Connor, R., Goniewicz, M. et al. Association between Urinary Metabolite Levels of Organophosphorus Flame Retardants and Serum Sex Hormone Levels Measured in a Reference Sample of the US General Population. Expo Health 12, 905–916 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-020-00353-w

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