Childhood exposure to non-persistent endocrine disruptors, glucocorticosteroids, and attentional function: A cross-sectional study based on the parametric g-formula.

Background: Evidence suggests that endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may perturb the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, which has a major role in brain development. We aimed to evaluate the effects of childhood exposure to organophosphate pesticides, phenols, and phthalate metabolites, on urinary glucocorticosteroids and inattention in childhood.

Methods: We used data from the Human Early-Life Exposome (HELIX) cohort (2013-2016) and the parametric g-formula to estimate associations between EDCs, glucocorticosteroids, and hit reaction time standard error (HRT-SE), a measure of inattention, and tested for possible effect modification by sex.

Associations between pre- and post-natal exposure to phthalate and DINCH metabolites and gut microbiota in one-year old children.

The gut microbiota is a collection of symbiotic microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract. Its sensitivity to chemicals with widespread exposure, such as phthalates, is little known. We aimed to investigate the impact of perinatal exposure to phthalates on the infant gut microbiota at 12 months of age.

Perinatal Exposure to Phenols and Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Gut Microbiota in One-Year-Old Children.

The role of the gut microbiota in human health calls for a better understanding of its determinants. In particular, the possible effects of chemicals with widespread exposure other than pharmaceuticals are little known. Our aim was to characterize the sensitivity of the early-life gut microbiota to specific chemicals with possible antimicrobial action.

Association of prenatal exposure to phthalates and synthetic phenols with pubertal development in three European cohorts.

Background: There is limited epidemiological evidence on the association of prenatal exposure to phthalates and synthetic phenols with altered pubertal timing.

Objective: To examine the association of prenatal exposure to phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), parabens, benzophenone 3 (BP-3), and triclosan (TCS) with pubertal development in girls and boys from three European cohorts.

Methods: Urinary metabolites of six different phthalate diesters (DEP, DiBP, DnBP, BBzP, DEHP, and DiNP), BPA, methyl- (MePB), ethyl- (EtPB), propyl- (PrPB), and butyl-paraben (BuPB), BP-3, and TCS were quantified in one or two (1st and 3rd trimester) urine samples collected during pregnancy (1999-2008) from mothers in three birth cohorts: INMA (Spain), EDEN (France), and MoBa (Norway).

Machine learning-based health environmental-clinical risk scores in European children.

Background: Early life environmental stressors play an important role in the development of multiple chronic disorders. Previous studies that used environmental risk scores (ERS) to assess the cumulative impact of environmental exposures on health are limited by the diversity of exposures included, especially for early life determinants. We used machine learning methods to build early life exposome risk scores for three health outcomes using environmental, molecular, and clinical data.

Prenatal Exposure to Chemical Mixtures and Metabolic Syndrome Risk in Children.

Importance: Prenatal exposure to ubiquitous endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may increase the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in children, but few studies have studied chemical mixtures or explored underlying protein and metabolic signatures.

Objective: To investigate associations of prenatal exposure to EDC mixtures with MetS risk score in children and identify associated proteins and metabolites.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based, birth cohort study used data collected between April 1, 2003, and February 26, 2016, from the Human Early Life Exposome cohort based in France, Greece, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, and the UK.

External Quality Assurance Schemes (EQUASs) and Inter-laboratory Comparison Investigations (ICIs) for human biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) biomarkers in urine as part of the quality assurance programme under HBM4EU.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were included as priority substances for human biomonitoring (HBM) in the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU), which intended to harmonise and advance HBM across Europe. For this project, a specific Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) programme applying Inter-laboratory Comparison Investigations (ICIs) and External Quality Assurance Schemes (EQUASs) was developed to ensure the comparability and accuracy of participating analytical laboratories. This paper presents the results of four ICI/EQUAS rounds for the determination of 13 PAH metabolites in urine, i.

Exposure to Phthalates in European Children, Adolescents and Adults since 2005: A Harmonized Approach Based on Existing HBM Data in the HBM4EU Initiative.

Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers and are associated inter alia with adverse effects on reproductive functions. While more and more national programs in Europe have started monitoring internal exposure to phthalates and its substitute 1,2-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (DINCH), the comparability of results from such existing human biomonitoring (HBM) studies across Europe is challenging. They differ widely in time periods, study samples, degree of geographical coverage, design, analytical methodology, biomarker selection, and analytical quality assurance level.

Exposure to flame retardants in European children - Results from the HBM4EU aligned studies.

Many legacy and emerging flame retardants (FRs) have adverse human and environmental health effects. This study reports legacy and emerging FRs in children from nine European countries from the HBM4EU aligned studies. Studies from Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Norway conducted between 2014 and 2021 provided data on FRs in blood and urine from 2136 children.

From science to policy: How European HBM indicators help to answer policy questions related to phthalates and DINCH exposure.

Within the European Human Biomonitoring (HBM) Initiative HBM4EU we derived HBM indicators that were designed to help answering key policy questions and support chemical policies. The result indicators convey information on chemicals exposure of different age groups, sexes, geographical regions and time points by comparing median exposure values. If differences are observed for one group or the other, policy measures or risk management options can be implemented.

Estimated daily intake of phthalates, parabens, and bisphenol A in hospitalised very low birth weight infants.

Very low birth weight infants (VLBW, birth weight (BW) < 1500 g) are exposed to phthalates, parabens and bisphenol A (BPA) early in life. We estimated daily intake (EDI) of these excipients in 40 VLBW infants the first and fifth week of life while hospitalised. Based on urinary samples collected in 2010, EDI was calculated and compared to the tolerable daily intake (TDI) with hazard quotients (HQs) evaluated.

Unravelling sex-specific BPA toxicokinetics in children using a pediatric PBPK model.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely known endocrine disruptor (ED) found in many children's products such as toys, feeding utensils, and teething rings. Recent epidemiology association studies have shown postnatal BPA exposure resulted in developing various diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and neurodegeneration, etc., later in their lives.

Association between phenols and thyroid hormones: The role of iodothyronine deiodinase genes.

Previous literature on prenatal phenol exposure and thyroid hormone (TH) alteration is conflicting, and the possible mechanisms of action involved remain unclear. We aimed to examine the association between prenatal phenol exposure and levels of maternal and neonatal THs, as well as the possible role of iodothyronine deiodinase (DIO) gene polymorphisms in this relation. We studied 387 Spanish mother-neonate pairs with measurements of maternal phenols, total triiodothyronine (TT3) and free thyroxine (FT4), maternal and neonatal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and maternal genotypes for single nucleotide polymorphisms in the DIO1(rs2235544) and DIO2(rs12885300) genes.

Diurnal Variation in Biomarkers of Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Their Association with Oxidative Damage in Norwegian Adults: The EuroMix Study.

Much evidence on the adverse health effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has accumulated during recent decades. EDCs are commonly found in various foods and personal care products (PCP). Data documenting a diurnally varying EDC metabolism in humans is scarce.

Proficiency and Interlaboratory Variability in the Determination of Phthalate and DINCH Biomarkers in Human Urine: Results from the HBM4EU Project.

A quality assurance/quality control program was implemented in the framework of the EU project HBM4EU to assess and improve the comparability of biomarker analysis and to build a network of competent laboratories. Four rounds of proficiency tests were organized for 15 phthalate and two DINCH urinary biomarkers (0.2-138 ng/mL) over a period of 18 months, with the involvement of 28 laboratories.

European interlaboratory comparison investigations (ICI) and external quality assurance schemes (EQUAS) for the analysis of bisphenol A, S and F in human urine: Results from the HBM4EU project.

The Human Biomonitoring for Europe initiative (HBM4EU) aims to study the exposure of citizens to chemicals and potentially associated health effects. One objective of this project has been to build a network of laboratories able to answer to the requirements of European human biomonitoring studies. Within the HBM4EU quality assurance and quality control scheme (QA/QC), a number of interlaboratory comparison investigations (ICIs) and external quality assurance schemes (EQUASs) were organized to ensure data consistency, comparability and reliability.

High urinary concentrations of parabens and bisphenol A in very low birth weight infants.

Very low birth weight infants (VLBW; birth weight < 1500 g) are treated with pharmaceuticals and medical equipment containing parabens and bisphenol A (BPA). Parabens are used in pharmaceuticals, whereas BPA in medical equipment where concentrations are rarely reported in hospitalised VLBW infants. We measured urinary concentrations of parabens and BPA and hypothesised high and increasing concentrations in infants born at lower gestational ages (GAs), and among infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and late-onset septicaemia (LOS) due to higher exposure from pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

The EuroMix human biomonitoring study: Source-to-dose modeling of cumulative and aggregate exposure for the bisphenols BPA, BPS, and BPF and comparison with measured urinary levels.

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) and, with increasing occurrence, its analogs bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF) are applied in many consumer products, leading to humans being exposed from a vast number of sources and via several routes. Estrogenic and anti-androgenic effects are exerted by the chemical BPA, and also by its analogs. Therefore, realistic exposure assessments are needed for assessing risks related to cumulative exposure.

Diet as a Source of Exposure to Environmental Contaminants for Pregnant Women and Children from Six European Countries.

Background: Pregnant women and children are especially vulnerable to exposures to food contaminants, and a balanced diet during these periods is critical for optimal nutritional status.

Objectives: Our objective was to study the association between diet and measured blood and urinary levels of environmental contaminants in mother-child pairs from six European birth cohorts ( mothers and 1,288 children).

Methods: We assessed the consumption of seven food groups and the blood levels of organochlorine pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and heavy metals and urinary levels of phthalate metabolites, phenolic compounds, and organophosphate pesticide (OP) metabolites.

Early-Life Environmental Exposures and Blood Pressure in Children.

Background: Growing evidence exists about the fetal and environmental origins of hypertension, but mainly limited to single-exposure studies. The exposome has been proposed as a more holistic approach by studying many exposures simultaneously.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the association between a wide range of prenatal and postnatal exposures and blood pressure (BP) in children.

Concentrations of selected chemicals in indoor air from Norwegian homes and schools.

Both building materials and consumer products have been identified as possible sources for potentially hazardous substances like phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organophosphorous flame retardants (OPFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) in indoor air. Thus, indoor air has been suggested to contribute significantly to human exposure to these chemicals. There is lack of data on the occurrence of several of the aforementioned chemicals in indoor air.