{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Phthalates and sex steroid hormones across the perimenopausal period: A longitudinal analysis of the Midlife Women's Health Study.
{Author}: Babadi RS;Williams PL;Preston EV;Li Z;Smith RL;Strakovsky RS;Mahalingaiah S;Hauser R;Flaws JA;James-Todd T;
{Journal}: Environ Int
{Volume}: 188
{Issue}: 0
{Year}: 2024 Jun 23
{Factor}: 13.352
{DOI}: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108770
{Abstract}: <B>BACKGROUND: </B>The menopausal transition involves significant sex hormone changes. Environmental chemicals, such as urinary phthalate metabolites, are associated with sex hormone levels in cross-sectional studies. Few studies have assessed longitudinal associations between urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations and sex hormone levels during menopausal transition.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Pre- and perimenopausal women from the Midlife Women's Health Study (MWHS) (n = 751) contributed data at up to 4 annual study visits. We quantified 9 individual urinary phthalate metabolites and 5 summary measures (e.g., phthalates in plastics (∑Plastic)), using pooled annual urine samples. We measured serum estradiol, testosterone, and progesterone collected at each study visit, unrelated to menstrual cycling. Linear mixed-effects models and hierarchical Bayesian kernel machine regression analyses evaluated adjusted associations between individual and phthalate mixtures with sex steroid hormones longitudinally.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>We observed associations between increased concentrations of certain phthalate metabolites and lower testosterone and higher sub-ovulatory progesterone levels, e.g., doubling of monoethyl phthalate (MEP), monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (∑DEHP) metabolites, ∑Plastic, and ∑Phthalates concentrations were associated with lower testosterone (e.g., for ∑DEHP: -4.51%; 95% CI: -6.72%, -2.26%). For each doubling of MEP, certain DEHP metabolites, and summary measures, we observed higher mean sub-ovulatory progesterone (e.g., ∑AA (metabolites with anti-androgenic activity): 6.88%; 95% CI: 1.94%, 12.1%). Higher levels of the overall time-varying phthalate mixture were associated with lower estradiol and higher progesterone levels, especially for 2nd year exposures.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Phthalates were longitudinally associated with sex hormone levels during the menopausal transition. Future research should assess such associations and potential health impacts during this understudied period.