Mixtures of Urinary Phenol and Phthalate Metabolite Concentrations in Relation to Serum Lipid Levels among Pregnant Women: Results from the EARTH Study
Xilin Shen,
Maximilien Génard-Walton,
Paige L. Williams,
Tamarra James-Todd,
Jennifer B. Ford,
Kathryn M. Rexrode,
Antonia M. Calafat,
Dan Zhang,
Jorge E. Chavarro,
Russ Hauser,
Lidia Mínguez-Alarcón,
the EARTH Study Team
Affiliations
Xilin Shen
Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
Maximilien Génard-Walton
Université Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail)—UMR_S 1085, F-35000 Rennes, France
Paige L. Williams
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Tamarra James-Todd
Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Jennifer B. Ford
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Kathryn M. Rexrode
Division of Women’s Health, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Antonia M. Calafat
National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
Dan Zhang
Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
Jorge E. Chavarro
Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Russ Hauser
Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Lidia Mínguez-Alarcón
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
We examined whether mixtures of urinary concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA), parabens and phthalate metabolites were associated with serum lipid levels among 175 pregnant women who enrolled in the Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) Study (2005–2017), including triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), non-HDL, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). We applied Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) and quantile g-computation while adjusting for confounders. In the BKMR models, we found no associations between chemical mixture and lipid levels, e.g., total cholesterol [mean difference (95% CRI, credible interval) = 0.02 (−0.31, 0.34)] and LDL [mean difference (95% CRI) = 0.10 (−0.22, 0.43)], when comparing concentrations at the 75th to the 25th percentile. When stratified by BMI, we found suggestive positive relationships between urinary propylparaben and total cholesterol and LDL among women with high BMI [mean difference (95% CRI) = 0.25 (−0.26, 0.75) and 0.35 (−0.25, 0.95)], but not with low BMI [mean difference (95% CRI) = 0.00 (−0.06, 0.07) and 0.00 (−0.07, 0.07)]. No association was found by quantile g-computation. This exploratory study suggests mixtures of phenol and phthalate metabolites were not associated with serum lipid levels during pregnancy, while there were some suggestive associations for certain BMI subgroups. Larger longitudinal studies with multiple assessments of both exposure and outcome are needed to corroborate these novel findings.
