TY - JOUR
T1 - Exposure to Phthalates in European Children, Adolescents and Adults since 2005
T2 - A Harmonized Approach Based on Existing HBM Data in the HBM4EU Initiative
AU - Vogel, Nina
AU - Lange, Rosa
AU - Schmidt, Phillipp
AU - Rodriguez Martin, Laura
AU - Remy, Sylvie
AU - Springer, Andrea
AU - Puklová, Vladimíra
AU - Černá, Milena
AU - Rudnai, Péter
AU - Középesy, Szilvia
AU - Janasik, Beata
AU - Ligocka, Danuta
AU - Fábelová, Lucia
AU - Kolena, Branislav
AU - Petrovicova, Ida
AU - Jajcaj, Michal
AU - Eštóková, Milada
AU - Esteban-Lopez, Marta
AU - Castaño, Argelia
AU - Tratnik, Janja Snoj
AU - Stajnko, Anja
AU - Knudsen, Lisbeth E
AU - Toppari, Jorma
AU - Main, Katharina M
AU - Juul, Anders
AU - Andersson, Anna-Maria
AU - Jørgensen, Niels
AU - Frederiksen, Hanne
AU - Thomsen, Cathrine
AU - Sakhi, Amrit Kaur
AU - Åkesson, Agneta
AU - Hartmann, Christina
AU - Dewolf, Marie Christine
AU - Koppen, Gudrun
AU - Biot, Pierre
AU - Den Hond, Elly
AU - Voorspoels, Stefan
AU - Gilles, Liese
AU - Govarts, Eva
AU - Murawski, Aline
AU - Gerofke, Antje
AU - Weber, Till
AU - Rüther, Maria
AU - Gutleb, Arno C
AU - Guignard, Cedric
AU - Berman, Tamar
AU - Koch, Holger M
AU - Kolossa-Gehring, Marike
PY - 2023/3/4
Y1 - 2023/3/4
N2 - Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers and are associated inter alia with adverse effects on reproductive functions. While more and more national programs in Europe have started monitoring internal exposure to phthalates and its substitute 1,2-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (DINCH), the comparability of results from such existing human biomonitoring (HBM) studies across Europe is challenging. They differ widely in time periods, study samples, degree of geographical coverage, design, analytical methodology, biomarker selection, and analytical quality assurance level. The HBM4EU initiative has gathered existing HBM data of 29 studies from participating countries, covering all European regions and Israel. The data were prepared and aggregated by a harmonized procedure with the aim to describe-as comparably as possible-the EU-wide general population's internal exposure to phthalates from the years 2005 to 2019. Most data were available from Northern (up to 6 studies and up to 13 time points), Western (11; 19), and Eastern Europe (9; 12), e.g., allowing for the investigation of time patterns. While the bandwidth of exposure was generally similar, we still observed regional differences for Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP), and Di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP) with pronounced decreases over time in Northern and Western Europe, and to a lesser degree in Eastern Europe. Differences between age groups were visible for Di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), where children (3 to 5-year olds and 6 to 11-year olds) had lower urinary concentrations than adolescents (12 to 19-year-olds), who in turn had lower urinary concentrations than adults (20 to 39-year-olds). This study is a step towards making internal exposures to phthalates comparable across countries, although standardized data were not available, targeting European data sets harmonized with respect to data formatting and calculation of aggregated data (such as developed within HBM4EU), and highlights further suggestions for improved harmonization in future studies.
AB - Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers and are associated inter alia with adverse effects on reproductive functions. While more and more national programs in Europe have started monitoring internal exposure to phthalates and its substitute 1,2-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (DINCH), the comparability of results from such existing human biomonitoring (HBM) studies across Europe is challenging. They differ widely in time periods, study samples, degree of geographical coverage, design, analytical methodology, biomarker selection, and analytical quality assurance level. The HBM4EU initiative has gathered existing HBM data of 29 studies from participating countries, covering all European regions and Israel. The data were prepared and aggregated by a harmonized procedure with the aim to describe-as comparably as possible-the EU-wide general population's internal exposure to phthalates from the years 2005 to 2019. Most data were available from Northern (up to 6 studies and up to 13 time points), Western (11; 19), and Eastern Europe (9; 12), e.g., allowing for the investigation of time patterns. While the bandwidth of exposure was generally similar, we still observed regional differences for Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP), and Di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP) with pronounced decreases over time in Northern and Western Europe, and to a lesser degree in Eastern Europe. Differences between age groups were visible for Di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), where children (3 to 5-year olds and 6 to 11-year olds) had lower urinary concentrations than adolescents (12 to 19-year-olds), who in turn had lower urinary concentrations than adults (20 to 39-year-olds). This study is a step towards making internal exposures to phthalates comparable across countries, although standardized data were not available, targeting European data sets harmonized with respect to data formatting and calculation of aggregated data (such as developed within HBM4EU), and highlights further suggestions for improved harmonization in future studies.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85151149024&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/toxics11030241
DO - 10.3390/toxics11030241
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36977006
VL - 11
JO - Toxics
JF - Toxics
SN - 2305-6304
IS - 3
M1 - 241
ER -