title: Sex steroid hormone levels and reproductive development of eight-year-old children following in utero and environmental exposure to phthalates.
abstract: In utero exposure to phthalates may adversely affect reproductive development in children due to the anti-androgenic properties of the pthalates. Accordingly, we aimed to determine the effects of in utero and environmental phthalate exposure on the reproductive development of eight-year-old children. We recruited 180 children in central Taiwan during November 2001 and followed them until August 2009 when all children became eight years old. Birth outcomes were collected. Bone age, hormone concentrations, and reproductive developmental stages were determined. Phthalate metabolite levels, including mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate [MEHP], mono-n-butyl phthalate [MnBP], and mono-benzyl phthalate [MBzP], were assessed. No significant gender differences were found in in utero phthalate exposure. Maternal urinary levels of phthalate metabolites did not correlate significantly with birth outcomes, physical characteristics, and reproductive hormones of the eight-year-old children. Regarding the urinary phthalate metabolite levels of the eight-year-old children, MEHP correlated significantly with serum progesterone levels. MEHP levels in girls correlated significantly with serum progesterone levels. MnBP correlated significantly with serum FSH in all children. In girls, MnBP correlated with serum FSH, and MBzP correlated with serum progesterone and FSH levels. Urinary phthalate metabolite levels did not correlate with female developmental stages or the development of female reproductive organs. Phthalate metabolites did not correlate with the physical characteristics and reproductive hormones in boys. Therefore, environmental exposure to phthalates, as determined by urinary phthalate metabolite levels of eight-year-old children, may affect reproductive hormone levels in children, indicating that further studies on the environmental health effects of phthalates are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung City, Taiwan; School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung City, Taiwan; Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pen-Hua
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung City, Taiwan; School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jia-Yuh
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Yi
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiao-Yen
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Sustainable Environment Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pao-Chi
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsung-Ho
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan; The Department of Public Health, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Li
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000652:urine; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D010795:Phthalic Acids; C032279:phthalic acid