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Phthalate exposure linked to miscarriage
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Miscarriage, particularly between 5 and 13 weeks of pregnancy, has been linked to exposure to certain phthalates, according to recent study findings published in Environmental Science & Technology.
“This study aimed to monitor phthalate metabolites in urine of pregnant women and explore the associations between phthalate exposure levels and clinical pregnancy loss,” the researchers wrote. “The results will be helpful to better understand the impacts of phthalate esters (PAEs) on the female reproduction function.”
Jianying Hu, PhD, of Peking University in China, and colleagues recruited 132 women who underwent clinical pregnancy loss and 172 healthy pregnant women (controls) from Beijing to determine the link between urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites and the risk for clinical pregnancy loss.
Ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was used to identify eight phthalate metabolites in urine, and the following five were detected in at least 95% of the samples: monomethyl phthalate (MMP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP), monoisobutyl phthalate (MiBP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP) and mono(2-ethlyexyl) phthalate (MEHP).
Compared with controls, participants who experienced clinical pregnancy loss had significantly higher concentrations of MEP, MiBP and MnBP; they also had higher concentrations of MMP and MEHP, although not statistically significant.
The phthalate with the highest concentration was MnBP, followed by MiBP, MEP, MEHP and MMP. After adjustment for confounders, a significant association was found between clinical pregnancy loss and MEP, MiBP and MEHP from the first to fourth quartiles.
“We for the first time found the associations between urinary concentrations of MEP, MiBP and MnBP and the increased risk of clinical pregnancy loss. To our knowledge, this is the first study with a large enough sample size to evaluate the question,” the researchers wrote. – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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