Paraben Concentrations in Maternal Urine and Breast Milk and Its Association with Personal Care Product Use.
Parabens are broad-spectrum antimicrobial preservatives and fragrances used in a wide range of personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and food providing the opportunity for people to be exposed on a daily basis. In 2009-2010, 80 pregnant women from Ottawa Canada participated in the Plastics and Personal-Care Product Use in Pregnancy (P4) Study. A subset of women (n = 31) who provided multiple spot urine samples (n = 542) collected over two 24-h periods had their samples analyzed for methylparaben (MP), n-propylparaben (PP), ethylparaben (EP), butylparaben (BP), isobutylparaben (IBP), and benzylparaben (BzP). These parabens were also measured in breast milk samples collected at approximately 3 months postpartum (n = 56 women). Women kept a diary of products that they used 24 h prior to and during the collection. All parabens measured in maternal urine had moderate to high reproducibility. Women who used lotions in the past 24 h had significantly higher geometric mean paraben concentrations (80-110%) in their urine than women who reported no use in the past 24 h. Women who used shampoo, conditioner, and cosmetics also showed 70-80% higher BP concentrations in their urine. Breast milk samples had >50% detection for MP, PP, and EP.
Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada , Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Mandy
0000-0003-4656-3813
M
Fisher
Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada , Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Susan
S
MacPherson
Department of Epidemiology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States.
Joseph M
JM
Braun
Harvard University School of Public Health , Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Russ
R
Hauser
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute , Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Mark
M
Walker
Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada , Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Mark
M
Feeley
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute , Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Ranjeeta
R
Mallick
Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec , Québec, QC Canada.
René
R
Bérubé
Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada , Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Tye E
TE
Arbuckle
D003358:Cosmetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D010226:Parabens / Q000032:analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry*
D003358:Cosmetics; D010226:Parabens; D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical