Medications as a source of paraben exposure.
BACKGROUND
Parabens are used as antimicrobial excipients in some pharmaceuticals. Parabens may adversely affect reproduction.


OBJECTIVE
Determine whether paraben-containing medication contributes to high urinary paraben concentrations.


METHODS
Individuals at a fertility clinic provided multiple urine samples during evaluation/treatment and reported 24-h use of medications and personal care products (PCP). Repeated measures models compared specific gravity-adjusted urinary methyl, propyl, and butyl paraben concentrations between samples "exposed" and "unexposed" to paraben-containing medication.


RESULTS
Eleven participants contributed 12 exposed and 45 unexposed samples, among which paraben concentrations did not differ. Use within 7h was associated with 8.7-fold and 7.5-fold increases in mean methyl (P=0.11) and propyl (P=0.10) paraben concentrations, respectively, after adjusting for PCP use. However, these associations decreased to 1.3-fold (P=0.76) and 2.6-fold (P=0.34), respectively, after removal of one influential individual.


CONCLUSIONS
Paraben-containing medications contributed to higher urinary paraben concentrations within hours of use.
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Laura E
LE
Dodge
Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Katherine E
KE
Kelley
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Paige L
PL
Williams
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Michelle A
MA
Williams
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Sonia
S
Hernández-Díaz
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Stacey A
SA
Missmer
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: rhauser@hsph.harvard.edu.
Russ
R
Hauser
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000187:drug effects; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D007317:Insemination, Artificial, Homologous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010226:Parabens / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry; D055815:Young Adult
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D010226:Parabens; D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical
Assisted Reproductive Technologies; Endocrine system; Parabens; Pharmaceuticals