Plasma phthalate levels in pubertal gynecomastia.
OBJECTIVE
Several untoward health effects of phthalates, which are a group of industrial chemicals with many commercial uses including personal-care products and plastic materials, have been defined. The most commonly used, di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP), is known to have antiandrogenic or estrogenic effects or both. Mono-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (MEHP) is the main metabolite of DEHP. In this study, we aimed to determine the plasma DEHP and MEHP levels in pubertal gynecomastia cases.


METHODS
The study group comprised 40 newly diagnosed pubertal gynecomastia cases who were admitted to Hacettepe University Ihsan Doğramaci Children's Hospital. The control group comprised 21 age-matched children without gynecomastia or other endocrinologic disorder. Plasma DEHP and MEHP levels were measured by using high-performance liquid chromatography. Serum hormone levels were determined in some pubertal gynecomastia cases according to the physician's evaluation.


RESULTS
Plasma DEHP and MEHP levels were found to be statistically significantly higher in the pubertal gynecomastia group compared with the control group (P < .001) (DEHP, 4.66 +/- 1.58 and 3.09 +/- 0.90 microg/mL, respectively [odds ratio: 2.77 (95% confidence interval: 1.48-5.21)]; MEHP, 3.19 +/- 1.41 and 1.37 +/- 0.36 microg/mL [odds ratio: 24.76 (95% confidence interval: 3.5-172.6)]). There was a statistically significant correlation between plasma DEHP and MEHP levels (r: 0.58; P < .001). In the pubertal gynecomastia group, no correlation could be determined between plasma DEHP and MEHP levels and any of the hormone levels.


CONCLUSIONS
DEHP, which has antiandrogenic or estrogenic effects, may be an etiologic factor in pubertal gynecomastia. These results may pioneer larger-scale studies on the etiologic role of DEHP in pubertal gynecomastia.
Durmaz
Erdem
E
Department of Pediatrics, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
Ozmert
Elif N
EN
Erkekoglu
Pinar
P
Giray
Belma
B
Derman
Orhan
O
Hincal
Filiz
F
Yurdakök
Kadriye
K
D000293:Adolescent; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D004051:Diethylhexyl Phthalate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006177:Gynecomastia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry; D011336:Probability; D011627:Puberty / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014421:Turkey
D010795:Phthalic Acids; C032279:phthalic acid; D004051:Diethylhexyl Phthalate; C016599:mono-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate