Abstract
Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a widespread environmental endocrine disruptor, while maternal DEHP exposure may affect the thyroid function of newborns. The purpose of this study was to assess influential factors of DEHP level in maternal urine and associations between DEHP and serum thyroid hormones in cord blood and associations between DEHP and thyroid-related genes in cord blood. 300 pairs of pregnant women and newborns were included in the study. The levels of DEHP metabolites (MEHP, MEOHP, MEHHP, MCMHP, and MECPP) in urine were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Serum hormones in cord blood were detected by Elisa kits. The levels of genes in cord blood were measured by quantitative real-time PCR. The independent-sample t-test, Mann–Whitney test, Spearman’s correlation, and multiple linear regression were used to evaluate the target associations. The detection rate of five DEHP metabolites was 100%. The median concentration of five metabolites from low to high was MEOHP (3.44 μg/L), MEHP (3.47 μg/L), MEHHP (3.89 μg/L), MECPP (8.29 μg/L), and MCMHP (8.49 μg/L). These factors (plastic cups, perfume cosmetics, color cosmetics, laundry fragrance, large chimney, and wood flooring) were associated with maternal urine DEHP metabolite levels (P < 0.05). There were positive associations between urinary MEHP (or MEHHP) and TTF1, MEHHP and TTR, MEHHP (or MCMHP) and DIO3, MEHHP and serum TRH (P < 0.05). There were negative associations between urinary MEHP and TG, MEHHP and serum FT3 (P < 0.05). Pregnant women were extensively exposed to DEHP, and DEHP metabolite levels were affected by lifestyles, dietary habits, and residential characteristics. Maternal DEHP exposure may affect the levels of thyroid hormones in newborns and thyroid-related genes.
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The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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The work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.81972996) and the Plan B of the Bethune Medical Department of Jilin University (2023B38).
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XZ conducted the blood sample collecting and drafted the manuscript. WQ, ZS, HY, and HZ contributed to urine collection and detection. JC, XF, and LS conducted data processing and analysis. XL, ZW, and HX conducted serum hormone detection. FW and LY are both the corresponding authors for the design of the study and the revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Zhang, X., Qi, W., Su, Z. et al. The Associations of Urinary DEHP Metabolites in Pregnant Women with Serum Thyroid Hormone and Thyroid-Related Genes in Neonatal Umbilical Cord Blood in Jilin, China. Expo Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-024-00636-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-024-00636-6