Environmental phenols and pubertal development in girls.
Environmental exposures to many phenols are documented worldwide and exposures can be quite high (>1 μM of urine metabolites). Phenols have a range of hormonal activity, but knowledge of effects on child reproductive development is limited, coming mostly from cross-sectional studies. We undertook a prospective study of pubertal development among 1239 girls recruited at three U.S. sites when they were 6-8 years old and were followed annually for 7 years to determine age at first breast or pubic hair development. Ten phenols were measured in urine collected at enrollment (benzophenone-3, enterolactone, bisphenol A, three parabens (methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-), 2,5-dichlorophenol, triclosan, genistein, daidzein). We used multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards ratios (HR (95% confidence intervals)) and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses to estimate relative risk of earlier or later age at puberty associated with phenol exposures. For enterolactone and benzophenone-3, girls experienced breast development 5-6 months later, adjusted HR 0.79 (0.64-0.98) and HR 0.80 (0.65-0.98) respectively for the 5th vs 1st quintiles of urinary biomarkers (μg/g-creatinine). Earlier breast development was seen for triclosan and 2,5-dichlorophenol: 4-9 months sooner for 5th vs 1st quintiles of urinary concentrations (HR 1.17 (0.96-1.43) and HR 1.37 (1.09-1.72), respectively). Association of breast development with enterolactone, but not the other three phenols, was mediated by body size. These phenols may be antiadipogens (benzophenone-3 and enterolactone) or thyroid agonists (triclosan and 2,5-dichlorophenol), and their ubiquity and relatively high levels in children would benefit from further investigation to confirm these findings and to establish whether there are certain windows of susceptibility during which exposure can affect pubertal development.
Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place Box 1057, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: mary.wolff@mssm.edu.
Mary S
MS
Wolff
Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place Box 1057, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: susan.teitelbaum@mssm.edu.
Susan L
SL
Teitelbaum
Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place Box 1057, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: kathleen.mcgovern@mssm.edu.
Kathleen
K
McGovern
Department of Environmental Health, Kettering Building, Room 208, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 3223 Eden Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056, USA. Electronic address: pinneysm@ucmail.uc.edu.
Susan M
SM
Pinney
Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control, California Department of Public Health, 850 Marina Bay Pkwy, Bldg P, Richmond, CA 94804, USA. Electronic address: gayle.windham@cdph.ca.gov.
Gayle C
GC
Windham
Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place Box 1057, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: maida.galvez@mssm.edu.
Maida
M
Galvez
Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place Box 1057, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: ashley.pajak7@mssm.edu.
Ashley
A
Pajak
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, MS-F17, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. Electronic address: szr8@cdc.gov.
Michael
M
Rybak
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, MS-F17, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. Electronic address: aic7@cdc.gov.
Antonia M
AM
Calafat
Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, 2000 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612, USA. Electronic address: larry.kushi@kp.org.
Lawrence H
LH
Kushi
Division of Adolescent Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue (ML-4000), Cincinnati, OH 45229-3029, USA. Electronic address: frank.biro@cchmc.org.
Frank M
FM
Biro
D000293:Adolescent; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D049628:Body Size; D002648:Child; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010636:Phenols / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000652:urine*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011627:Puberty / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014481:United States
D015415:Biomarkers; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010636:Phenols
Breast development; Environment; Phenols; Puberty