title: Couples' urinary bisphenol A and phthalate metabolite concentrations and the secondary sex ratio.
abstract: With limited research focusing on non-persistent chemicals as exogenous factors affecting human sex selection, this study aimed to evaluate the association of urinary bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalate metabolite concentrations with the secondary sex ratio (SSR), defined as the ratio of male to female live births. The current analysis is limited to singleton live births (n=220, 43.9%) from the Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE) Study, in which couples discontinuing contraception with the intention of becoming pregnant were enrolled and followed while trying for pregnancy and through delivery for those achieving pregnancy. Using modified Poisson regression models accounting for potential confounders, we estimated the relative risks (RRs) of a male birth per standard deviation change in the log-transformed maternal, paternal, and couple urinary BPA and 14 phthalate metabolite concentrations (ng/mL) measured upon enrollment. When maternal and paternal chemical concentrations were modeled jointly, paternal BPA (RR, 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.95) and mono-isobutyl phthalate (RR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.67-1.00) were significantly associated with a female excess. Contrarily, maternal BPA (RR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.03-1.31), mono-isobutyl phthalate (RR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.06-1.54), mono-benzyl phthalate (RR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.08-1.58), and mono-n-butyl phthalate (RR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.01-1.51) were significantly associated with a male excess. These findings underscore varying patterns for the SSR in relation to parental exposures. Given the absence of previous investigation, these partner-specific associations of non-persistent chemicals with the SSR need future corroboration.
authors: Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6100 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20852, USA; Department of Preventive Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, 33 Duryugongwon-ro 17-gil Nam-gu, Daegu 705-718, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jisuk.bae@nih.gov.
authors: Jisuk
authors: J
authors: Bae
authors: Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6100 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. Electronic address: kims2@mail.nih.gov.
authors: Sungduk
authors: S
authors: Kim
authors: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany, Empire State Plaza, P.O. Box 509, Albany, NY 12201-0509, USA. Electronic address: kkannan@wadsworth.org.
authors: Kurunthachalam
authors: K
authors: Kannan
authors: Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6100 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. Electronic address: louisg@mail.nih.gov.
authors: Germaine M
authors: GM
authors: Buck Louis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds / Q000652:urine*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D010636:Phenols / Q000652:urine*; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000652:urine*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012744:Sex Ratio; D013781:Texas; D055815:Young Adult; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
chemical_list: D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010636:Phenols; D010795:Phthalic Acids; C006780:bisphenol A; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
keywords: Bisphenol A; Endocrine disruptors; Fertility; Phthalates; Sex ratio