Personal care product use and urinary phthalate metabolite and paraben concentrations during pregnancy among women from a fertility clinic

Abstract

Parabens and phthalates are potential endocrine disruptors frequently used in personal care/beauty products, and the developing fetus may be sensitive to these chemicals. We measured urinary butyl-paraben (BP), methyl-paraben, propyl-paraben, mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP), and monoethyl phthalate (MEP) concentrations up to three times in 177 pregnant women from a fertility clinic in Boston, MA. Using linear mixed models, we examined the relationship between self-reported personal care product use in the previous 24 h and urinary paraben and phthalate metabolite concentrations. Lotion, cosmetic, and cologne/perfume use were associated with the greatest increases in the molar sum of phthalate metabolite and paraben concentrations, although the magnitude of individual biomarker increases varied by product used. For example, women who used lotion had BP concentrations 111% higher (95% confidence interval (CI): 41%, 216%) than non-users, whereas their MBP concentrations were only 28% higher (CI: 2%, 62%). Women using cologne/perfume had MEP concentrations 167% (CI: 98%, 261%) higher than non-users, but BP concentrations were similar. We observed a monotonic dose-response relationship between the total number of products used and urinary paraben and phthalate metabolite concentrations. These results suggest that questionnaire data may be useful for assessing exposure to a mixture of chemicals from personal care products during pregnancy.

Figure 1

Box and whisker plots of specific gravity adjusted urinary phthalate metabolite and paraben concentrations (μg/L) during pregnancy among women with a live birth from the EARTH Study¹ 1-MBP: monobutyl phthalate, MEP: monoethyl phthalate, BP: butyl paraben MP: methyl paraben, PP: propyl paraben.

Figure 2

Proportion of visits women reported using specific personal products in the last 24-hours according to categorical personal care product use among pregnant women with a live birth from the EARTH study¹ 1-Categories are defined as 0–5 (low), 6–7 (medium), and 8–11 (high) products used in the last 24 hours. Numbers are based on the 391 visits completed by 177 women (n=128, 146, and 117 for low, medium, and high use, respectively).

Figure 3

Adjusted percent change in specific gravity standardized urinary phthalate metabolite and paraben concentrations with personal care product use in the last 24 hours among pregnant women with a live birth from the EARTH study^1,2,3 1-Separate models for each predictor and outcome. Models adjusted for maternal race (white vs. non-white), education (graduate school vs. no graduate school), age (years), body mass index (continuous, time-varying), weeks gestation (time varying), and number of other personal care products used (continuous, time-varying). 2-MBP: monobutyl phthalate, MEP: monoethyl phthalate, BP: butyl paraben, MP: methyl paraben, PP: propyl paraben. 3-Products are sorted in order of the largest (top) to smallest (bottom) change in the phthalate and paraben molar sum concentrations.

Figure 4

Adjusted geometric mean specific gravity standardized urinary phthalate metabolite and paraben concentrations according to the number of personal care product use in the last 24 hours among pregnant women with a live birth from the EARTH study^1,2,3 1-Separate models for each predictor and outcome. Models adjusted for maternal race (white vs. non-white), education (graduate school vs. no graduate school), age (years), body mass index (continuous, time-varying), and weeks gestation (time varying). 2-MBP: monobutyl phthalate, MEP: monoethyl phthalate, BP: butyl paraben, MP: methyl paraben, and PP: propyl paraben. 3-Grey line represents the overall geometric mean. Error bars are the 95% CI of the geometric mean.