Age and sex differences in childhood and adulthood obesity association with phthalates: Analyses of NHANES 2007–2010
Open accessAbstract
Background Exposure to environmental chemicals may play a role in the development of obesity. Evidence suggests phthalate exposure may be associated with obesity in children and adults. Objective To examine the association of ten urinary phthalate metabolites mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP), mono-2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl phthalate (MECPP), mono-2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl phthalate (MEHHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP), mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono-(carboxylnonyl) phthalate (MCNP), and mono-(carboxyoctyl) phthalate (MCOP) grouped by molecular weight of their parent compounds with body weight outcomes in children, adolescent and adult participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2010. Methods We performed multinomial logistic regression to analyze the association between obesity and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in children and adolescents and adults. Results Low molecular weight (LMW) phthalate metabolites (MnBP, MEP and MiBP) are significantly (p<0.05) associated with higher odds for obesity in male children and adolescents. High molecular weight (HMW) phthalate metabolites (MECPP, MEHHP, MEOHP, MEHP, MBzP, MCNP, and MCOP) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) metabolites (MEHHP, MEOHP, MEHP and MECPP) are significantly (p<0.05) associated with higher OR for obesity in all adults. Additionally, DEHP metabolites are significantly associated with obesity in all female adults; whereas DEHP and HMW metabolites are significantly associated with OR for obesity in males 60 years and older. Conclusions We found age and sex differences in the association between urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations and body weight outcomes. Reverse causation cannot be excluded since overweight and obese people will have more fat mass, they may store more phthalates, thus leading to higher excretion concentrations.
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Some phthalate metabolites (MEP, MBP, and MiBP) were associated with obesity in children, whereas MEHP, MECPP, MEHHP, MEOHP, MBzP, and MCNP were associated with obesity in adults.
“Some phthalate metabolites (MEP, MBP, and MiBP) were associated with obesity in children, whereas MEHP, MECPP, MEHHP, MEOHP, MBzP, and MCNP were associated with obesity in adults.”
From A Review of Biomonitoring of Phthalate Exposures (2019) · cites this paper as [196]
The Results sections for children and adolescents and for adults report obesity associations for several listed metabolites, but with important qualifications: MiBP was associated only in males, and the adult results identify individual associations for MECPP, MEHHP, MEOHP, and MCNP. The paper lists MnBP (apparently the claim’s MBP) and MEHP within associated metabolite groups, but does not report individual associations for either; it likewise does not report an individual adult association for MBzP. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSeveral studies have shown a significant association between obesity and phthalate exposure.
“Several studies have shown a significant association between obesity and phthalate exposure [193,196,198].”
From A Review of Biomonitoring of Phthalate Exposures (2019) · cites this paper as [196]
DEHP metabolites were found to be significantly associated with obesity in adult females and older males.
“Further, DEHP metabolites were found to be significantly associated with obesity in adult females and older males [196].”
From A Review of Biomonitoring of Phthalate Exposures (2019) · cites this paper as [196]
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- Authors
- Buser, M. C., Murray, H. E., & Scinicariello, F.
- Affiliations
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (US)
- Corresponding author
- Scinicariello, Franco
- Venue
- International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-07
- Volume
- 217
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 687-694
- ISSN
- 1438-4639 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8114794
- OpenAlex
- W1997777981
- Cited by
- 195
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 6
- FWCI
- 9.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- National Institutes of Health (CC999999)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Keywords
- phthalate metabolites, obesity, urinary biomarkers, age differences, sex differences, children and adolescents, adults, low molecular weight phthalates, high molecular weight phthalates, DEHP metabolites, body weight, environmental chemical exposure, NHANES
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Child, Environmental Exposure, Environmental Pollutants, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Molecular Weight, Nutrition Surveys, Obesity, Phthalic Acids, Sex Factors, Logistic Models, Young Adult, Pediatric Obesity
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