Dietary correlates of urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in 6-19 Year old children and adolescents

Authors

Jenny L. Carwile, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Portland, ME, USA. Electronic address: jcarwile@mmc.org.
Shravanthi M. Seshasayee, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Portland, ME, USA.
Katherine A. Ahrens, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, USA.
Russ Hauser, Department of Environmental Health and Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Jorge E. Chavarro, Department of Nutrition and Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Abby F. Fleisch, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Portland, ME, USA; Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME, USA.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2022

Institution/Department

Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, MaineHealth Institute for Research

Journal Title

Environmental research

MeSH Headings

Adolescent; Adult; Child; Diet; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Pollutants; Humans; Nutrition Surveys; Phthalic Acids; Young Adult

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Children are vulnerable to adverse health effects associated with phthalates, and food is one source of exposure. A comprehensive analysis investigating urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in relation to food type and source has yet to be undertaken. OBJECTIVES: We use reduced rank regression, a dimension reduction method, to identify dietary patterns associated with urinary phthalate metabolites in children in a large US study. METHODS: We used data from 2369 participants 6-19 years old from the 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who recalled their diet over the 24 h prior to urine collection. We used dietary data to estimate intake and source (i.e., prepared at a restaurant vs. purchased from a grocery store) of 136 food groups. We used reduced rank regression to identify dietary patterns explaining variation in overall urinary concentrations of ∑di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate and seven phthalate metabolites. We also examined pairwise associations between food groups and urinary phthalate metabolites. RESULTS: We identified eight dietary patterns that cumulatively explained 12.1% of variation in urinary phthalate metabolites, including a dietary pattern characterized by certain starchy vegetables (e.g., plantains and lima beans), quick breads, and citrus juice prepared at a restaurant. A one SD increase in this food pattern score was associated with a 37.2% higher monocarboxyoctyl phthalate (MCOP) concentration (95% CI: 30.3, 44.4). We also observed weak associations between certain food groups and urinary phthalate metabolites (e.g., a one SD increase in intake of certain starchy vegetables prepared at a restaurant was associated with a 1.8% [95% CI: 0.7, 2.8] higher MCOP). CONCLUSIONS: Children whose diets were characterized by higher consumption of certain starchy vegetables, quick breads, and citrus juices prepared at a restaurant had higher urinary phthalate metabolites. More detailed information on the specific methods of food processing and details on packaging materials is needed.

First Page

112083

Recommended Citation

Carwile JL, Seshasayee SM, Ahrens KA, Hauser R, Chavarro JE, Fleisch AF. Dietary correlates of urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in 6-19 Year old children and adolescents. Environ Res. 2022;204(Pt B):112083. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2021.112083