title: Urinary paraben concentrations and their associations with anthropometric measures of children aged 3 years.
abstract: Parabens, known as ubiquitous preservatives, have been linked to adverse health outcomes in humans. This study aimed to examine urinary paraben concentrations of children at 3 years of age and evaluate their associations with anthropometric parameters. Urinary parabens including methylparaben (MeP), ethylparaben (EtP), propylparaben (PrP), butylparaben (BuP) and benzylparaben (BeP) were measured among 436 children in a birth cohort using gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Generalized linear models were performed to evaluate associations of paraben exposures with age- and sex-specific z scores, including weight, height, weight for height and body mass index. MeP, EtP and PrP were the dominant parabens in urinary samples, with the median concentrations of 6.03 μg/L, 3.17 μg/L, 2.40 μg/L, respectively. The median values of estimated daily intake (EDIurine) of five urinary paraben concentrations were 12.10, 5.68, 4.50, 0.06 and 0.17 μg/kg-body weight/day, respectively. Urinary EtP concentrations were positively associated with weight z scores [regression coefficient β = 0.16, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.04, 0.29; p = 0.01] and height z scores (β = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.27; p = 0.01). Positive associations were found between the sum of molar concentrations of five parabens and height z scores among all children (β = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.45; p = 0.02). These significant associations were only observed in boys. Our findings suggest that exposure to parabens may be adversely associated with physical growth in 3-year-old boy children. Further prospective studies are warranted to understand the toxicological mechanisms of paraben exposures and potential risk of children.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Social Risks Governance in Health, Fudan University, No.130 Dong'an Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Jianqiu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Social Risks Governance in Health, Fudan University, No.130 Dong'an Road, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address: chwu@shmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chunhua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Social Risks Governance in Health, Fudan University, No.130 Dong'an Road, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 1380 Zhongshan West Road, Shanghai 200336, China.
authors.forename: Dasheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Social Risks Governance in Health, Fudan University, No.130 Dong'an Road, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 1380 Zhongshan West Road, Shanghai 200336, China.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No.39 Yunwushan Road, Changning District, Shanghai 200051, China.
authors.forename: Weijiu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Social Risks Governance in Health, Fudan University, No.130 Dong'an Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Xiuli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No.39 Yunwushan Road, Changning District, Shanghai 200051, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 1380 Zhongshan West Road, Shanghai 200336, China.
authors.forename: Guoquan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Social Risks Governance in Health, Fudan University, No.130 Dong'an Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Zhijun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000652:urine*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010226:Parabens / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D016482:Urinalysis
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010226:Parabens
keywords: Anthropometric measures; Child health; Exposure assessment; Parabens; Urine