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. 2022 Oct 15;9(10):1561.
doi: 10.3390/children9101561.

The Joint Effect of Perceived Psychosocial Stress and Phthalate Exposure on Hormonal Concentrations during the Early Stage of Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Study

Henrieta Hlisníková  1 , Miroslava Nagyová  1 , Branislav Kolena  1 , Miloš Mlynček  2 , Tomáš Trnovec  3 , Ida Petrovičová  1
Affiliations

The Joint Effect of Perceived Psychosocial Stress and Phthalate Exposure on Hormonal Concentrations during the Early Stage of Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Study

Henrieta Hlisníková et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Phthalates alter the hormonal balance in humans during pregnancy, potentially affecting embryonic and fetal development. We studied the joint effect of exposure to phthalates, quantified by urinary phthalate metabolite concentration, and perceived psychological stress on the concentration of hormones in pregnant women (n = 90) from the Nitra region, Slovakia, up to the 15th week of pregnancy. We used high-performance liquid chromatography, tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS), and electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay to determine urinary concentrations of phthalates and serum concentrations of hormones, respectively. We used Cohen perceived stress scale (PSS) to evaluate the human perception of stressful situations. Our results showed that mono(carboxy-methyl-heptyl) phthalate (cx-MiNP) and a molar sum of di-iso-nonyl phthalate metabolites (ΣDiNP) were negatively associated with luteinizing hormone (LH) (p ≤ 0.05). Mono(hydroxy-methyl-octyl) phthalate (OH-MiNP) and the molar sum of high-molecular-weight phthalate metabolites (ΣHMWP) were positively associated with estradiol (p ≤ 0.05). PSS score was not significantly associated with hormonal concentrations. When the interaction effects of PSS score and monoethyl phthalate (MEP), cx-MiNP, ΣDiNP, and ΣHMWP on LH were analyzed, the associations were positive (p ≤ 0.05). Our cross-sectional study highlights that joint psychosocial stress and xenobiotic-induced stress caused by phthalates are associated with modulated concentrations of reproductive hormones in pregnant women.

Keywords: hormones; phthalate exposure; pregnant woman; psychosocial stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Path diagram explaining the potential associations between the concentrations of hormones, phthalate metabolites, PSS score and confounding variables (age, BMI, week of pregnancy, active and passive smoking). Solid arrow represents association with between the main variables (concentrations of hormones, phthalate metabolites, PSS score) or between confounding variable and main variables. Interrupted arrow represents association between confounding variables.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The associations between the concentrations of LH and MEP based on the PSS score category stratification; Legend: ln—log transformation, LH—luteinizing hormone, MEP—monoethyl phthalate, PSS—perceived stress scale.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The associations between the concentrations of LH and OH−MiNP based on the PSS score category stratification; Legend: ln—log transformation, LH—luteinizing hormone, OH−MiNP—mono(hydroxyl−methyl−octyl) phthalate, PSS—perceived stress scale.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The associations between the concentrations of LH and cx−MiNP based on the PSS score category stratification; Legend: cx-MiNP—mono(carboxy−methyl−heptyl) phthalate, ln—log transformation, LH—luteinizing hormone, PSS—perceived stress scale.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The associations between the concentrations of LH and DiNP based on the PSS score category stratification; Legend: DiNP—molar sum of di−iso−nonyl phthalate metabolites, ln—log transformation, LH—luteinizing hormone, PSS—perceived stress scale.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The associations between the concentrations of LH and HMWP based on the PSS score category stratification; Legend: HMWP—molar sum of high−molecular−weight phthalate metabolites, ln—log transformation, LH—luteinizing hormone, PSS—perceived stress scale.
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